The Universal Conundrum: Zootopia
by ElectroPHX228
Summary: Follow our traveller of the multiverse, Christopher Anthony, as he wanders through the urban jungle known as Zootopia. This is one of many outcomes to the original story: Time for an Introduction.
1. Call of the Storm

**A/N: Hey guys like I promised here's the new story I've been working on. Shoutout to my Editor/fellow author, AeroQC, for helping me out. Go check out his stuff.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot line and my OCs, everything else goes to Disney**

* * *

 **Chapter 1  
** **Call of the Storm**

Tundra Town University, Zootopia  
February 10, 2016  
8:15 PM

?'s POV

Finishing up my notes, I took a look at my watch; I guess I should call it a night. My mom wouldn't like it if I stayed too late studying, but I could hardly help it with finals coming up soon. If I didn't get these theorems memorized I would be in trouble and four years of studies in quantum theory would go down the drain, along with all the funding my family helped out with. As soon as I was done packing my things I got a text on my phone.

Mom – _Hey, dinner's in the microwave when you get home  
_ Me – _Thx, I'll be home soon  
_ Mom – _OK see you_

As I walked out of the library, I felt the wind picking up. I looked to the sky to see some very weird clouds forming above the campus. I could see flashes of lightning coming through them as they swirled in the sky. Then the strikes happened. Bolts of lightning hit the ground around me, and I was too far from any kind of shelter that would help. I stood in the middle of the grounds, shaking as each bolt seemed to hit closer and closer to where I was standing. As I looked to the sky, I saw one final stream of lightning plunging towards me. In that instant, my life flashed before me, as short as it was. I burned to ash from the electrical discharge, my scream echoing through the courtyard.

ZNN Broadcasting Station, Zootopia  
February 12, 2016  
10:25 AM

"Yet another report of a missing mammal, here in Zootopia; this time, a university student. 22-year-old Jackson W. Frost, an arctic fox, has been filed as 'missing' just this morning. He was last seen exiting the Tundra Town University Library during a freak lightning storm, on the tenth of February. His family was expecting him to return after receiving a text message at 8:16 PM, but Mr. Frost never appeared. Witnesses claim to have seen him exiting the building just as the lightning storm was forming, as well as hearing a scream just as the lightning subsided. The police department has offered no comment on the status of the investigation that is underway."


	2. Zoo-What-Now?

**A/N: Hey guys here's chapter 2 for all of y'all to read so enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2  
** **Zoo-What-Now?**

?'s POV

For the longest time, I didn't feel anything. Or was it that I couldn't feel anything? But then I felt the pain, and it was horrible; like I had just been put back together after being disintegrated into dust. Oh wait, that did happen.

I could feel myself lying on some asphalt; I heard some cars and the murmur of a crowd not too far from where I was. I just laid there where I was, breathing heavily, trying to calm myself down from whatever just happened. I eventually sat up and managed to open my eyes, finding myself at the end of an alleyway. I was still wearing all of my clothes, thankfully. And a quick search of my pockets confirmed that I still had my wallet and phone. Wondering where I was, I opened up the GPS on my phone, but for the next few minutes it only displayed 'Unable to locate'.

"Well that's just great," I had said aloud. I looked down the alleyway, towards the noises of the city I was in. I figured all that was left to do was to explore the old-fashioned way, so I got up and walked out of the alley.

Standing on the sidewalk, I looked around with a mix of confusion, wonder, and, surprisingly, fear. All around me, there were animals dressed in clothing, walking around on their hind legs as if they were human. A few of them walked by me, with an odd look on their faces; probably in reaction to my own expression, now that I think about it. I immediately pulled up the hood of my sweater and started walking down the street, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself as I looked around.

~~~}|{~~~

After much exploring, I managed to learn the name of the city I was in, 'Zootopia'. I still chuckle whenever I think about it; it's a weirdly cheesy and fitting name for this place. It was, literally, a zoo of multiple species of animals living together in this urban metropolis. The only thing that confused me about it was that there wasn't any reptiles or birds walking around, just mammals.

As the sun was starting to set, I happened upon a small park. Some lamps lit the way on a path as it wound through the grass and trees. I sat down on one of the multiple benches that stood there. As I looked out onto the darkening skyline of Zootopia, I wondered what I was going to do with myself, now that I was here. I decided to sleep on it, feeling exhausted from walking around all day.

~~~}|{~~~

It was a dreamless sleep, that much I remember, and I'm not sure if I'm grateful for it or not, since the morning came back quickly enough. I was introduced to the new day with some poking to my face. As I opened my eyes, I was greeted with a large pair of green eyes surrounded by orange fur. I nearly fell off the bench in surprise as I tried to get up, my heart racing from the sudden wake-up.

"Woah, buddy didn't mean to scare ya," the animal said. After a few moments calming down and re-adjusting my glasses, I looked to the animal that woke me. Dressed in a green Hawaiian shirt, loose tie and khakis, stood a fox.

"You okay?" He asked with a small grin. "You look like hell."  
"I'm fine," I answered, almost reluctantly. "I just had a rough day, yesterday."  
"Sure looks like it, you were passed out on the bench," the fox replied, pointing to said bench.  
"Yeah, well, thanks for waking me up."  
"No problem, I've done it myself a few times," he laughed as he pulled out a phone from his pocket. "Though I should get going; gotta make ends meet, you know."

And the fox walked away.

As I looked in his direction, I thought about what the fox said. If I was going to live here, I guessed that I was going to need a job as well. With my decision made I stood up from the bench, ready to stand up to the challenges that I would find in Zootopia.


	3. Honest Work

**A/N: Hey guys here's chapter 3, this is where things get a little interesting. I will be gone for few weeks, I don't know when but I will. But I will still try to update for y'all, keyword "try", I make no promises. Enjoy**

* * *

 **Chapter 3  
Honest Work  
**

?'s POV

As I walked around the city, trying to figure out what kind of job I could do, I happened upon a costume shop. Through the window, I could make out some masks of various animals. On a whim, I walked into the store and browsed through the many costumes, finding the animal masks that I had seen from outside. I had figured something like this would help me blend in with the other animals walking around. After picking out a mask and matching gloves, I absent-mindedly starting walking towards the cashier, at least until I remembered that I had no money to pay for them. I ducked into an empty aisle before the cashier noticed me and hastily stuffed the mask and gloves under my sweater.

I didn't like doing it then and I still don't like recalling it, but I walked out of the store as fast as I could without drawing attention to myself, taking my stolen items with me. I walked a fair bit before finding a quiet alley and taking out my haul; I had grabbed a wolf mask and a set of furry gloves, the mask looking almost realistic. In the store, I was debating over a fox and a wolf mask, but if I was going to try and blend in, I figured that the wolf costume was the better option just from my height. I put on the mask and gloves, pulling my hood up for good measure, and continued walking through Zootopia; my mind back on track on finding a job.

As my thoughts wandered, memories of my jobs from back home came to mind. Aside from my videos on Youtube, I had done a few art commissions a couple of years ago. So to be honest, my skillset was pretty lack-luster back then. Knowing the Youtube gig was close to impossible in my situation, I opted for selling some drawings.

Still feeling confident from my last theft, I managed to swipe the bare essentials for my new job; a pencil, an eraser, some tape, a sketchbook, and a black marker. All that was left to do was to make a few signs and find some seats for me and my costumers.  
After an hour, I had managed to scavenge a few decent looking stools, some cardboard boxes, and a curtain that someone had thrown out. I set myself up in a nearby park; I piled the boxes to hold up the curtain, making it act as a backdrop for my customers. I then made a makeshift sign on the boxes that simply said 'Drawings'. As I waited for my first customers, I did some practice sketches of the various animals that wandered around the park, taping them up next to the sign for added advertisement. Eventually, a wolf couple came over and looked over my drawings.

"Excuse me sir, but my wife and I would like a portrait of us done," one of the wolves asked.  
"Sure," I replied. "Just take a seat and I can get started."

As I made my sketch, the wife decided to strike up a conversation.

"Are you new to Zootopia?" She asked.  
"Is it that obvious?" I chuckled, the two wolves laughing with me. "Yes, I'm new here. I just arrived yesterday."  
"Well for a new arrival, you seem to be taking it in at a nice pace," she said with a smile. "Isn't that right, Harold?"

The husband just smiled at her.

"Would you like me to sign your names on this sketch?" I asked as I finished up with the marker.  
"I'm not sure," Harold said before looking to his wife. "What do you think Mary?"  
"Oh I think it'll be a nice touch, dear," Mary answered. "Please, sign it to Mary and Harold Wolford."  
"Of course," I replied as I made the personal touch.

With the drawing finished, I showed the couple my work.

"Here you go," I said. "That'll be one dollar."

The two looked at me with shock on their faces.

"You must be joking," the husband said.  
"Oh, is that too much?" I asked, sounding disappointed.  
"On the contrary," his wife chimed in. "That's way too low for the effort you put into it."  
"Here's twenty," Harold offered after fishing through his wallet.

I took the bill and the couple took their drawing; my plan was a success. The next few hours went about the same way, a customer would ask for a drawing and I would lowball the price. With a little acting, they took pity and offered anywhere from fifteen to thirty dollars for my art. By the end of the day, I had close to three-hundred in my pocket. After packing up my things, I walked into the nearest hotel and asked for a room. Not even bothering to take off my clothes or my disguise, I passed out on the bed when I arrived, exhausted.

~ ~ ~}|{~ ~ ~

The few days that followed are a blur in my memory. I slept at the hotel, ate in a nearby restaurant and made drawings in the park for passersby. I even bought some new equipment for my booth: an easel and some folding chairs. Things were going great; I made a decent amount of cash and I enjoyed what I was doing, for the most part. My only complaint at the time was my stuffy disguise; it got really hot underneath that mask when the sun was at high-noon. But that all came crashing down on the day I got a visit from a familiar face.

"Hey buddy, mind if I take a seat?" A voice asked, catching my attention.

I looked around and saw the very same fox who had woken me up in the park not even a week ago.

"Sure, go ahead," I replied, gesturing to a chair.

The fox unfolded one and set himself up next to my easel, eyeing my work.

"Seems like I'm not the only one who knows how to make a nice slice of dough," he eventually said.  
"I'm sorry?" I asked, not fully understanding the statement.  
"I've seen you at work," he admitted. "And I like your tactic, lowballing the price yourself is genius."  
"Um, thanks, I guess..."  
"Sorry, I haven't introduced myself," the fox apologized before holding out his paw. "Nick Wilde."  
"Zach Barkson," I lied, as I shook it.  
"I have to ask, though, are you legal?" Nick asked in a low voice.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean, do you have a license," the fox questioned. "Because if the cops come by, they're not exactly going to be the nicest customers."

He suddenly looked over my shoulder and his eyes widened.

"Speaking of which, I better get going," he exclaimed as he jumped off his chair and started walking away. "Best of luck to you!"

I looked behind me to see what the fox had meant; two animals in blue uniforms, a rhino and a tiger, were walking in my direction. Without thinking, I hastily started packing up my stuff. Thinking back on it now, that was the worst thing I could have done, but hey, hindsight is twenty-twenty. I was in the middle of stuffing my backdrop into a box when one of the officers asked me the obvious question:

"Excuse me, sir. But do you have a permit to sell items here?"

I turned around to find the two of them with scowls on their faces.

"Yes, yes I do." I lied. "Just let me find it, I know it's in here-"

And I bolted. As stupid as I was, I thought I could actually outrun them. But that idea fell apart when I was tackled by the tiger officer, him pinning me to the ground. The animal had unfortunately forgotten about my legs as I kicked and managed a shot to his groin. As the whimpering cat fell off me, I made another run for escape. My running was cut short when I felt a needle in my shoulder. I instinctively reached to pull it out as my legs failed underneath me. I fell onto the grass, feeling my limbs go numb, an empty glass dart in my hand.

"Are you seeweeuth?" I slurred as I passed out.


	4. Salt & Pepper

**A/N: Hey guys, don't worry I'm just as shocked as y'all are. I didn't expect this to be done so soon, but let me tell you. I and my editor had a field day with this one. anyways just before y'all start reading, I'm gonna let you know that my editor will be going on vacation so both of us won't be publishing or updating within that time frame. But** **until then, enjoy the story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4  
** **Salt & Pepper** **  
**

"Zach's" POV

The next thing I knew, I was laying on a bench in a bare concrete room with a raging headache. My mind was all groggy, so I was wondering what the hell had happened. The bars that made up the fourth wall to my room jogged my memory real quick; the cops, the chase, and the dart that took me out. I was caught and got thrown in jail. I couldn't help but let out a groan as I facepalmed at my predicament. And that's when I finally took notice of my disguise, or rather, my lack thereof.

I don't know what came over me back then, but something just urged me to vent my frustration in any way possible. And my first victim, opening the door to my cell, was a grey wolf.

"So you're the guy they hauled in yesterday?" The wolf asked as he blocked the exit."Well, that just depends on how long I've actually been in here," I started. "Do you mind if I ask who you are?"  
"Um, no," the wolf replied, looking shocked at my sudden outburst. "Officer Wolford of ZPD. Do you mind giving me your name?"

"Oh sure, just let me get my briefcase, I always make sure to have some business cards ready," I sarcastically replied as I looked underneath the bench. "Wait a minute, I left my briefcase back in the park. I guess you won't be getting my name anytime soon, then."

I then stood up and walked on over to the wolf, my face a wall of seriousness.  
"But enough chitchat, you came in here for a reason," I exasperated. "Or did curiosity kill the cat along the way?"

If the officer's first expression was shock, then his face showed straight up horror at my turn of phrase. He stammered incomprehensibly as my eyes bore holes into him. After a moment, he cleared his throat and declared his intention:

"I've been sent to direct you to the interrogation room."  
"Well, why didn't you say so!?" I exclaimed, making the wolf jump. "Let's get going; it's rude to keep them waiting, you know."

And so, Officer Wolford led me across the precinct to the interrogation room. Inside was the stereotypical blank room with a two-way mirror, adorned with a plain table and two matching chairs. I took my seat facing the mirror and set my feet on the table, making myself comfortable. It didn't take long for my interrogator to arrive, a large buffalo, and the next victim of my frustration.

~ ~ ~}|{~ ~ ~

"Before we get anywhere, I would like to ask one thing," the officer said. "What is your species?"  
"Hmm, give me a moment," I said as I scratched my chin, feigning deep thought. "Sorry, can't tell you right now, but if you want an appointment I'm sure my secretary can arrange a meeting next Tuesday."

The buffalo slammed his hooves on the table.

"I will not ask you again," he stressed. "What is your species?"  
"Sorry, beef-brain, no can do," I toyed, staring at the ceiling.  
"What did you call me?" The officer fumed.  
"Well if you were listening, beef-brain, then you would have heard me the first time."

I looked past the enraged animal to the mirror.

"Hey, can I get an apple? I haven't eaten since yesterday and could really go for an apple right now," I asked to whoever might have been behind it.  
"You will not be getting an apple!" The buffalo shouted. "You will answer my question."  
"And would you mind telling me the question again?" I rhetorically stated.

The buffalo, despite the smoke coming out of his ears, remained silent.  
"Oh that's right, you said you weren't going to ask again," I jeered. "Well that's too bad, I almost felt like actually answering. Almost."

I held up my thumb and index finger close together to emphasize my point.  
"We're done here," the buffalo stated, walking on over to the door.

I got up and blocked his way.

"Woah, hold up officer, I thought you had more to ask?" I prodded.  
"Of course," he strained to say. "But obviously, you won't answer anything I have to ask you."  
"Someone, please, give Officer Beef-brain an award for outstanding deduction!" I exclaimed to no one in particular as I applauded.  
"WOLFORD!"

~ ~ ~}|{~ ~ ~

A very frightened Officer Wolford had led me back to my cell. I stayed there for the rest of the day, not seeing another soul. The station had probably been warned of my attitude and wanted to limit my interactions with the other officers. But even if I had visitors, my frustration was all gone after the failed interrogation session. Exhausted from my elaborate actions and having nothing to eat, I decided to rest my eyes.

My sleeping didn't last long, as I was woken up by the sound of something hitting the floor. I got up from my bench to find a duffel bag in the middle of my cell. Making sure that no cops were around, I opened up the bag. Inside was a myriad of items that looked as if they belonged to a mad scientist. Searching through it, I found some very strange items. A bottle with a golden liquid was labeled 'REGENERATION ENERGY'. A pair of weird-looking white boots with some canisters of orange and blue goop strapped to them. But there was one item that had caught my attention immediately; an earpiece with a large tag attached to it.

The tag read as follows:

 _PERCEPTION FILTER INSTRUCTIONS_

 _1\. PUT PERCEPTION FILTER ON LEFT EAR.  
_ _2\. ROTATE DIAL ONE TICK COUNTER-CLOCKWISE TO ACTIVATE CALIBRATION.  
_ _3\. ROTATE DIAL CLOCKWISE TO CYCLE THROUGH SETTINGS; ONE TICK PER SETTING. SETTING WILL ACTIVATE AFTER ONE SECOND OF INACTIVITY.  
_ _4\. ROTATE DIAL TWO TICKS COUNTER-CLOCKWISE TO DEACTIVATE._

 _SETTING 1: DISGUISE (A HOLOGRAM OF A CHOSEN ANIMAL FROM THE USER'S MEMORY IS PROJECTED OVER THEIR PHYSICAL BEING)  
_ _SETTING 2: LOW-LEVEL PF (ALL VISUAL ASPECTS ARE HIDDEN. HIGH-SPEED MOVEMENTS WILL DEACTIVATE THE DEVICE)  
_ _SETTING 3: HIGH-LEVEL PF (ALL VISUAL AND AUDIBLE ASPECTS ARE HIDDEN . ANY MOVEMENT WILL DEACTIVATE THE DEVICE)_

 _WARNING: THIS DEVICE WILL ONLY WORK AGAINST ORGANIC BEINGS. ANY TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICES THAT CAN RECORD VIDEO WILL SEE THROUGH THE PERCEPTION FILTER._

Despite it sounding too good to be true, I immediately grinned at the prospect of possibly escaping. I inserted the earpiece and closed the bag, making sure everything was ready for transport. I then proceeded with the calibration, one tick counter-clockwise; a series of beeps were emitted from the device. As it went silent, I assumed the calibrations were finished and made two ticks clockwise. After a moment, I noticed that my body started to shimmer as if you were looking at the static on an untuned TV set.

All set, I put my impromptu escape plan into motion.

"HEY! IS ANYONE THERE?! I NEED SOME HELP!"

None other than Officer Wolford came to the cell door, in a rush to find out what the problem was. A look of disbelief ran over his face as he looked into my cell as if I wasn't there at all. I was almost just as surprised to find that the earpiece was actually working.

But then the wolf started sniffing at the air; I had forgotten that I was working against animals. Following his nose, he opened the door and walked in; zeroing in closer to my location. I slowly made my way behind the wolf as he continued to sniff the room. Then with a large swing of the duffel bag, I knocked him out cold.

After resetting the earpiece, I left the cell and slowly made my way towards the lobby. I passed by a multitude of cops on my way there, but none of them noticed my presence; or if they did, they didn't seem to care. As I entered the lobby though, all hell broke loose. I heard voices over the loudspeakers; they had found Wolford knocked out and me missing from my cell. Various animals in police uniforms started running through the precinct, most likely trying to locate me. But unfortunately for them, I was already out the doors and making my way east. As far away from the precinct as possible.


	5. New Faces

**A/N: OMG I'm not dead, wait let me check *pinches one's self*, yep I'm still alive. Sorry for not updating for awhile, my editor, AeroQC, was on vaca as well as I so, yeah. Anyways, just another heads up, I will also be starting school within a couple weeks so updates will be less frequent than they were before. Other than that, I bid you adieu.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5  
** **New Faces**

"Zach's" POV

It was a peaceful night out, not a cloud in the sky. The moon shone brightly overhead as I ran for my freedom; police sirens blaring a few streets behind me.

I had done a good job of escaping the precinct earlier but got careless as I got further away from it. I was spotted by a patrol car only a few blocks away from the department; a flashlight blinded me as the siren started. I ran as fast as I could, jumping into alleys and climbing over fences, but I could hear the cops closing in.  
As I got to a fork in the back-alley, I ducked behind a nearby dumpster and reached for the earpiece. One click, two clicks, three clicks. My body started to shimmer and then faded out to an almost transparent appearance.

The cops reached the fork, not three feet from where I was hiding, and split up to go down each path. I stood up, fading back into sight, and went in the opposite direction back up the alley.

With that heart-attack behind me, I sat behind the dumpster of another alley, catching my breath. I was tired and hungry and just wanted to sleep in a bed. As I went to grab my wallet, I noticed that it wasn't there; my pockets were empty. My phone, as well, was missing. After a brief moment of panic, I came to the conclusion that my stuff was back at the precinct, most likely in some evidence locker. I banged my head against the dumpster at the thought of having to break back into jail, but I had to do it.

It was very late by the time I got to the department; it had taken me a while to find where I was heading. The lights were still on in the lobby, and I could see that someone was manning the front desk. It was the only way in, so I tried on a disguise thanks to the earpiece; the female wolf that I had met on the first day, Wolford's wife.  
As I walked through the door, the large cheetah at the desk lazily looked up from the computer.

"Mary? What are you doing here?" He said, trying to stifle a yawn. "I thought you were with Harry at the hospital? After a hit like he took, I hope he doesn't get a concussion."  
"I hope so too," I admitted while attempting a female voice. "I came by to pick up his things, would you mind grabbing them for me?"  
"Are you okay, Mary? You don't sound so good," the big cat asked with concern.  
"I-it's fine," I quickly replied. "I just came down with a nasty cough and now my throat is a bit sore."  
"You should get a lozenge for that. Wait here; I'll go grab Harry's gear for you."

As the cheetah walked down a hall, I made for the opposite direction and began my search. It took a while to find the storage room, but that only led to the next problem: the door was locked. I didn't have the time or patience to find the keys, so I just started ramming the door, causing a decent amount of noise with each hit. After the sixth or so attempt at opening it, the door fell away and I stumbled into the room.

I quickly looked through all of the items on the shelves and eventually found my phone and wallet.  
Just as I was about to leave, something caught my eye. In the corner of the room was the same duffel bag that I had used to knock out Wolford a few hours ago. I had just dropped it in the cell when I was making my escape. The cops must have assumed this was the weapon of the crime and placed it in here. I figured it would be a better idea to leave with it, rather than without. It's where I got the earpiece, so maybe it had some more useful items. So with the bag in tow, I left the room.

"Alright, stop right there," I heard a voice call from behind me, accompanied by a metallic click.

Yup, I was caught a second time.

"Drop the bag and put your paws in the air," the voice ordered as it got closer.

I crouched down and let the bag touch the floor.

"Now get up and put your paws in the air," the voice repeated as it reached just behind me.

I swung the bag around as I got up and managed to knock the weapon the cop was holding out of his grasp. I followed it up with a kick to his stomach, causing the wolf in front of me to double over. I finished the assault with another swing of the bag, rendering him unconscious. And then I bolted for the exit.

The cheetah yelled at me as I ran past him, and called on his radio for any cruisers in the area. I just sprinted out of the lobby and up the street. The extra weight of the bag drained at the little stamina I had, so I searched earnestly for somewhere to lay low. I came across a large building with a window that was open; I figured I could squeeze through it. Near the complex was a modest sign that read:

 _Savanna Central Institute of Technology & Engineering_

' _A university_ ,' I thought to myself. ' _This place shouldn't have anyone around at this hour._ '  
My mind set, I hauled myself through the window just as I heard the familiar sirens of the police starting to make their way down the street.  
I waited for the sounds to pass by before taking a good look around the room. It looked like a chemistry lab, some chemicals in beakers were bubbling as they were being heated by the burners under them. This detail struck me as odd until I felt a crack to the back of my head.

~ ~ ~}|{~ ~ ~

I woke up to find myself in a modest looking living room, tied to a chair, with my duffel bag and earpiece set on the coffee table in front of me.

' _Just slightly better than the precinct_ ,' I mentally noted.

The sound of a closing door brought my attention to the entranceway, where a sour-faced vixen looked at me intently.

"Would it be too much to ask where I am right now?" I dared.  
"Yes, actually," my hostess huffed. "In fact, you're going to answer MY questions or I'm calling the police right now. Are we clear?"  
"Yes ma'am," I surrendered.  
"Good."

My captor walked on over to the couch on the other side of the table and sat down, arms and legs crossed, her expression unchanged.  
"First question, why did you break into the student's lab at the university?"  
"Just to clear up any misunderstanding," I started. "I didn't break in, the window was wide open."  
"But you still climbed in through it. Now answer the question," she growled.  
"I was hiding from the cops," I shamefully admitted.  
"Why?"  
"Vending without a permit, escaping containment and assaulting some officers," I listed, mumbling the last part.  
"And what!?" She exclaimed, her ears perking up.  
"Nothing..."  
"Don't you play dumb with me! What was that last part!" She hissed, her fur bristling.  
"I knocked out a couple of cops while getting away!" I hastily answered, scared of the vixen.

She calmed down, apparently satisfied with my answer, and patted down her fur.  
"Well, since I'm in the company of someone as dangerous as you, I really should call the police."

The vixen leaned forward and peered into the duffel bag.

"But seeing as I'm a lady of science, I'm interested in who and what you are. As well as all the gadgets that you were carrying, in here. And if I call you in, I won't be able to satisfy my curiosity. So I guess today is your lucky day."

She got up from the couch and sauntered over to my chair. She lifted my chin with a single digit; a claw poking my skin.

"Just remember that I'm in charge," she declared.  
"Okay," I gulped.

She removed her claw from under my chin and cut the rope that held me in place. I got up and stretched, my muscles cramped from being restrained and tired. It took a moment for me to realize that the vixen was holding out a paw, wanting me to shake it. As I did, she smiled; a far cry from the menacing captor she played earlier.

"It'll be a pleasure working with you," she chimed. "My name is Melody Vulpez, but you can call me Mel."  
"Christopher Anthony," I replied. "Just Chris is fine."

And just at that moment, my stomach had had enough and declared it's want for food.

"Hungry?" Mel rhetorically asked.

I gave her a "what-do-you-think" kind of look.

"I think I might have some leftover fish that I could fix up for you," the vixen thought out loud as she made her way out of the room. "Do you eat fish?"  
"Yes. Please."

As Mel worked on the food, I took the time to scour the contents of the bag on last time for the night. The boots, gels, and chemicals were still in there, but so were a few items that I could've sworn weren't there before; chief among them was a bracer with a miniature crossbow strapped to it.  
I laid the items out on the table and proceeded to examine each one. Aside from the crossbow, there was an expensive looking watch, a thick manila envelope and a notepad with a bunch of letters and symbols scrawled all over it. I thought nothing of the notepad and opened the envelope. Inside was a stack of blueprints for a variety of gadgets and contraptions: crossbow modifications, upgrades for my earpiece, nanotech plans for my glasses (of all things), and weirdest of all, tune-up plans for a 1998 Jeep Cherokee.

"What's this?" Mel asked as she stuffed the notepad in my face, making me jump.  
"I have no idea. And next time don't do that, you scared the crap out of me," I replied.  
"Well it's not my fault you're so easy to sneak up on," she mocked me.

Mel stared intently at the notepad and rifled through its pages.

"Looks to me like we've got the formula for some sort of serum," the vixen concluded.  
"Any idea what that serum does?"  
"No," she hastily answered. "But apparently, you're supposed to drink it."  
"How do you figure?"

She just showed me the last page of the notepad. In large letters and underlined multiple times was one word:

 _DRINK_

It couldn't be any more obvious.

"Well, as much as I'd love to stay up and find out what this serum does, I'm going to bed," the vixen declared, setting down the formula. "Your food's in the microwave and there's blankets in the cabinet over there. And if you try ANY funny business while I'm asleep…"

She gave me a grim stare and bared her claws in one paw; I gulped again. She left the room without another word, leaving me to my devices. I put the items and plans away in the duffel bag, ate my plate of fish and picked out some blankets from the cabinet. With all of the energy I put into running from and KO-ing the police, it was no surprise that I quickly fell asleep on the couch.


	6. Rogue Morning

**Chapter 6  
Rogue Morning  
**

Chris's POV

Despite sleeping on a couch, I actually had a good night's sleep. It was probably due to all the running for my life, but I could hardly complain at the time. My morning grogginess was stirred by the familiar smell of coffee coming from the kitchen.  
I found Mel at the table, crouched over a mess of electronics and a mug of coffee. I served myself my own and sat down across from her; she didn't seem to notice that I was even there.

"Mornin' Mel," I greeted her.  
"Holy shit! Don't do that!" She jumped her fur standing on end.  
"And with that, I'd say we're even," I mumbled as I took a sip of coffee. "How are you doin'?"  
"Fine, fine," the vixen replied as she took her own sip. "Just tinkering around with that earpiece you were wearing last night."  
"You're what?"  
I looked down at the pieces on the table. Sure enough, I recognized the shell of the Perception Filter among the circuit boards.  
"What was this supposed to do, anyway?" She asked. "I don't see a speaker, so it's not a radio. And the battery on this thing is way beyond what's available at a consumer level. And then there's this thing…"  
She picked up a small piece that looked like a gyroscope within a snowglobe.  
"Which I have no idea what it is or what it does!" she exclaimed.  
I held my head in my hands.  
"Mel, have you ever thought to ask what the earpiece did, before you took it apart?" I quietly asked.  
"No… But usually I can figure that stuff out just by looking at the insides," she explained.  
"Then have you figured out what it does?" I gave her stern look.  
"Well… No."  
"Can you at least put it back together?"  
"Uh…"  
The vixen looked away while rubbing her neck; I facepalmed.  
"Great. Just great!" I told myself as I walked out of the kitchen. "I'm freakin' screwed!"  
"Chris, you're not telling me something," Mel voiced as she followed me.  
"That earpiece was my saving grace!" I shouted at her. "It was a one-of-a-kind device that gave me a believable disguise, and now you've gone and ripped it apart! I don't even know where it came from, so don't go asking me how to fix it!"  
Mel had just stood there, taking in my outrage. Not moving, not flinching. She just took a seat on the couch and breathed calmly before responding.  
"I'm sorry for tearing down your disguise," the vixen apologized. "I've been a little antsy lately and needed something to take my mind off things. Your little gizmo had me intrigued and I couldn't help but figure out what it did."  
"You could've asked me," I pointed out.  
"Yeah, but you looked like you needed the rest, and I'm a little impatient at times."

I sat down next to her. I appreciated the thought that she let me sleep, but I was still angry about it. If I was going to have any peace from the authorities, I would need the perception filter to keep myself in disguise; a mask and gloves just wouldn't cut it at this point.  
"You know, you remind me a lot of my fiancé," Mel suddenly spoke up.  
"I'm sorry?"  
"The way you just blew up, it's almost exactly like how fights with me," she explained.  
"Well I hope my being here doesn't get you in any trouble." I stated.  
She just looked to the floor.  
"He's been missing for close to a week now," she meekly replied. "I haven't heard from him at all."  
Mel started giving hiccups, are sure sign that she was crying. My guess was that this was the topic she had been trying to avoid, and now I had just reminded her of it. Feeling a bit guilty, I pulled her into a hug.  
"What are you doing?" She asked full of tears.  
"Obviously, you need to let it out, and someone to hold onto."  
"Why do you have to be so much like him?" She half laughed, half cried.

After a few moments of holding her, Mel seemed to calm down. She still had a few tears in her eyes, but it seemed like the worst was over.  
"Why don't you tell me about him?" I asked. "That is, if you don't mind talking about it."  
"N-no, I don't mind. I just wish I knew where he was; what was going on…" She trailed off. "He's always been so nice and funny and smart, I never thought I'd get to know a fox like him. His fur always seems to glow whenever I see him, all white and soft. And his eyes are an amazing amber-green."  
"Amber… Green?" I repeated, slightly confused.  
"They're a mystery to look at," she sighed. "It's like watching the trees go from summer to fall and back again every time I look into them."  
The vixen gave another heavy sigh.  
"He also has the same taste in clothing as you," she chuckled. "Put on a flat cap and I might even think you're him."  
"In case you haven't noticed, I don't think a hat would let me pull that off," I joked.  
"No, I guess you're right," she giggled as she got up from the couch. "Thanks for listening, Chris."  
"Just promise me you'll try and fix your mess."  
"I will… Right after I analyze those parts," she grinned.  
"And how long is that going to take?" I exasperated.  
"Well... If we take it to the student laboratory at the institute, I'll definitely be able to take some proper notes and reassemble it."  
"Great. I'll be coming with, just to keep an eye on things," I decided. "But would you mind if I took a shower first?"  
"Oh, sure. Down the hall, on the left; towels are in the cupboard, next to the sink."

After last night's scuffle, a shower was very much needed. Unfortunately, I would have to put back on my sweaty shirt, but I could worry about fresh clothes later.  
I had just managed to get my pants back on when Mel walked in.  
"I'm sorry! I thought you were done!" She hastily apologized while covering her eyes.  
"Mel it's fine, I've got my pants on," I nonchalantly responded.  
"Oh… Right… Umm, I'm just here to brush my teeth before we go," she meekly replied, making her way to the sink.  
As she brushed her fangs, I finished getting dressed. I pulled on my shirt and put my glasses on. I noticed that Mel was looking intently at my shoes as I slipped them on afterwards; I guess she was intrigued, seeing as how she was walking around barefoot. I was about to slip my necklace on when she grabbed my arm.  
"Where did you get that!?" The vixen demanded, pointing at my arrowhead pendant.  
"I made it when I was thirteen. Why?"  
"Because that looks exactly like the one my fiancé always wore," she growled while tightening her grip.  
"Ow. Mel, can you ease up on the vicegrip?"  
"I want you to tell me where you got that necklace," she ordered, her eyes glaring. "And you better not lie to me!"  
"I made it myself," I told her, keeping her gaze. "I bought the arrowhead at a gift shop after a cavern tour and crafted the necklace with leather and wire. Now can you please let go?"  
She released my arm and I put my necklace on. She continued to stare at it as I slipped it beneath my shirt, which made me feel a little uneasy.  
"Jack has one just like it," she softly revealed. "The cord's different, but the arrowhead is perfect match. When I saw yours, I freaked out. I thought, maybe, you had something to do with his disappearance…"  
"Look, Mel, I've never even met your fiancé," I assured her. "So I doubt I have anything to do with his disappearance. Now could we get going?"

I zipped up my hoodie as we exited Mel's home, which happened to be an apartment. She locked the door and led the way down the hall, dressed in a white lab coat that she had had hanging by the door. Stopping at the elevator, I noticed that she even had a nametag on the front. It read:

DR. MELODY VULPEZ  
MECHANICAL ENGINEER

As the doors were starting to close, I saw what looked like a sea otter appear in the hall. Seeing us in the closing doorway, they started running.  
"Holdthedoorholdthedoorholdthedoor!" She yelled.  
I held the open door button, keeping the elevator available. The otter rushed in and I let the door close.  
"Thanks… For that…" The otter wheezed, doubled over.  
"No problem. You're just lucky I'm feeling nice today," I teased, taking note of her lab coat.  
"Lucky me," she chuckled as the elevator opened onto the lobby.  
"Well, me and my… Cousin have to get going," Mel announced, pulling me out of the elevator. "Some of us have to be on time for our diplomas."  
"Well look who's talking, Fox," the otter spat.  
Mel stopped in her stride, causing me to almost crash into her. She whirled around to face the otter and marched right up to her face.  
"You know what? That's it. I've had enough of your bull shit, Mandy. So why don't you buzz off or so help me I'll BUILD YOUR GRAVE MYSELF!"  
The vixen's outburst echoed through the lobby for a moment. The otter didn't seem phased, despite the show of claws that Mel was putting on.  
"Oh please. Like you'll do anything," Mandy replied bitterly. "Ever since we were kids, you've always been the lazy one out of the three of us. To be honest, I'll never understand why Jackson even liked you."  
"DON'T YOU EVER SAY HIS NAME!" Mel choked. "IF YOU DO, I'LL… I'LL..."  
"Just say it!" The otter dared.  
"Okay, that's it." I said, placing myself between the two. "Now quit your shit, before I have to make you do it myself."  
I did my best to hide my face in my hood from the otter, but with my arms outstretched to keep them apart, I was taking a chance on getting found out.  
"I know that you two LADIES are better than this. So I'm going to put my arms down and you're both going to apologize, shake paws, and walk away. Are we clear?" I tried negotiating the imminent cat-fight.  
"Fine," the rivals answered.  
"I'm sorry for threatening you," Mel apologized unenthusiastically.  
"I'm sorry for egging you on," Mandy replied I the same manner.  
The two shook paws without looking at each other, obviously still angry with the other.  
"Good," I stated with shallow satisfaction. "Now Mel, I think we should be going."  
"Yeah… We should," she replied automatically.  
As we exited the lobby, the wind caught my hood and blew it back. I hastily pulled it up, hoping nobody saw my face.

* * *

 **A/N: Ooh, looks like there's more to Mel then we thought. Anyways I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. And review if you'd like, cause I enjoy seeing other people's opinions. Until next time, "Peace Out".**


	7. Strong Reactions

**A/N: Hey guys sorry for the wait. I only got 4 words for y'all, "School. Is. A. Bitch." yep school's starting up and I got sucked in so yeah, that and I'm doing X-Country running which will also slow me down. A lot. Yep, their's my life at the moment. Anyway, don't let me hold you from the story. Please review. I'd like to see what you guys think. Also, Thank you guys so much for all the nice reviews. I really like that you guys enjoy my story. Anyways let's get on with the story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7  
Strong Reactions**

Chris's POV

After what was most definitely a close shave with a catfight, Mel led the way to the Institute. It wasn't far, but the leftover tension from the fight made every step seem like forever.  
"So… Who was that back there?" I questioned. "If you don't mind me asking."  
"Mandy Lauter," the vixen growled. "She used to be my friend."  
"Used to?"  
"Everything changed when Jackson disappeared," she sighed.  
"Oh…"  
"Yeah, I don't really like talking about it much…"  
"Well if you ever feel up to it, I'm technically yours," I offered.  
"Thanks," she giggled. "Maybe later, though."

She eventually led me through the halls of the school towards her personal lab, which I recognized as the one I had snuck into the previous night.  
"I've got a few classes today, so you'll have to stay here until I'm done," Mel informed me as she tossed me some keys. "These will grant you access to the cupboards over there if you wanted to take a crack at that formula. Just don't blow up the lab."  
"I highly doubt that'll happen," I laughed.  
I waved her off as she walked down the hall before closing the door and locking it behind me. I set my duffel bag on one of the counters and fished out the notepad that had the formula written on it. Since she was kind enough to give me full access to her lab, I figured it was the best way to spend my time before Mel got back. I just had to figure out what was written down.

After a more dedicated evaluation than the night before, I figured out that the formula was a five-step process. I had to make four different solutions and then mix them all together along with a sample of my blood and something that was called 'Regeneration Energy'. After that, it was only a matter of drinking it, but I had no idea what it would do at the time. As I read the formulas for the four solutions, I was racking my brain on trying to figure out what each component was. These were the directions for the first solution:

 _Solution 1  
Dissolve 150g of KNO3 into 300g of H2O.  
Mix 50g of C12H22O11 into the resulting solution.  
Keep at 350 degrees Kelvin until ready to mix with the other solutions._

Not exactly the easiest instructions to understand. Heck, I'd probably have a better chance at figuring out the directions for Ikea furniture; Chemistry was never my best subject. I was just about to give up on the entire thing when I noticed a computer in the corner of the lab.  
"If that's not connected to the internet, I'm gonna cry," I muttered to myself.  
Logging into the guest account, I found that it was. I punched in the various chemicals into the search engine, funnily named 'Zoogle', and wrote down the results. My research complete, I took the opportunity to learn about the world around me; I was already at the computer and from the information I had gathered on the components I was going to be using, blowing up the lab was sounding a lot more plausible.

~~~}|{~~~

A few hours had passed by and I had three of the four solutions ready, bubbling in separate beakers when I heard the door to the lab open. Looking over to it, I saw that it was Melody, most likely having just finished up her classes. She seemed quite surprised by the state of the lab.

"Okay, I wasn't expecting this," she commented as she made her way over.  
"Well you did give the go ahead if I wanted to try making that formula," I explained as I grabbed some more flasks from the cupboard.  
"I didn't think you were actually going to try though."  
"Well thanks for the vote of confidence," I deadpanned.  
"You're welcome," she joked. "Now since you don't seem to be needing any help…"  
She set herself up on a free table and pulled out the Perception Filter pieces.  
"…I'll just go ahead and start up on this," she finished.  
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever," I replied, returning to the measurements needed for the last solution.

As the last solution was made I heard a large groan coming from Mel.  
"Is everything okay on your end?" I asked.  
"It's this Perception Filter," she explained. "I just can't seem to figure it out, and I'm not putting it back together until I do."  
"There's also the fact that I doubt it'll work unless you put it back together properly," I muttered under my breath.  
"What was that?"  
"Nothing."  
The vixen sighed and got up from her workstation.  
"Screw it. I need a break from this," she exclaimed. "Mind getting a paw?"  
It took me a second to register the metaphor.  
"Sure, I'm just about done anyway," I accepted. "We need to mix the solutions together then add this…"  
I held up the jar of golden liquid that was marked as 'REGENERATION ENERGY'.  
"…As well as a sample of my blood."  
"Why your blood?" She questioned.  
"I dunno," I shrugged. "Maybe so it'll only work on me?"  
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Mel spat.  
"Trust me when I say that this runs second on my list of most ridiculous things," I replied as I took out one last beaker for the final mixture.

As we poured in each solution the serum took on a wild variety of colors; while each solution had started out in monotone grays, the results went from red to purple to blue and finally ended in a metallic brownish-green. The smell didn't help with its appeal either, it was like someone had offloaded a sewer into the beaker.  
"Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick," Mel commented.  
"You're going to be sick?" I exclaimed. "You're not the one drinking it!"  
"You're seriously going to drink THAT?"  
"Well, I'm sure as hell not going to take a shower with it."  
"Smartass. I mean you could probably take it as an injection instead," she offered as she took out a syringe from a drawer.  
I took a step back as she brought it out; I was not very keen on needles.  
"With this, you wouldn't have to worry about the smell or, god forbid, the taste," the vixen explained. "And it would probably render the serum a lot more effective, especially if we did a direct injection to the heart."  
I blinked.  
She grinned.  
"Got you," she laughed. "Did you really think I was going to put that into your heart?"  
"Sorry, I forgot to laugh," I replied with a scowl.  
"Oh come on, your reaction was hilarious," she chuckled.  
"And I think you've helped enough," I said as I took the golden liquid and started uncapping the jar. I didn't realize it at the time, but I had spilled a little into the solution as I undid it.

"Fine, I'll get back to the Perception filter then," the vixen huffed as she walked back to her workstation.

With the Regeneration Energy mixed into the serum, the liquid went from its less than delightful color to a dull gold; and it smelled a lot nicer too. I was pricking myself when I heard Mel shout out:  
"Hey! I need that!"  
I turned around to find that Mel was fighting with Mandy, the otter from this morning, who was holding the snowglobe-looking piece at arm's length.  
"Clearly you don't even know what it does, so I figured you wouldn't mind if I took a look at it," the otter shot back, struggling to keep the vixen at bay.  
Great, another animal all over my case, I thought to myself. But before I could break up the fight, my attention was caught by a sudden glow that seemed to come from behind me. I found that it was the serum giving off the light and immediately went to the formula notes to verify what was going on.

 _As soon as the solution starts creating an exothermic reaction, add the recipient's blood to the formula and…_

 _DRINK IT!_

I didn't quite understand what exothermic meant, but the solution was certainly undergoing a reaction, so I extended my pricked finger over the bright beaker and let a few drops fall in. A loud bang echoed through the lab as a waft of smoke blew up from the beaker. As it cleared, I found that the serum had taken on a black colour; now all that was left to do was drink it.  
I looked over to Mel to see how she was fairing with her fight, and it didn't seem to be going all that well. A table had been flipped over and she and the otter were on the floor in a full out brawl; the snowglobe-looking piece nowhere to be seen.  
I turned back to the foul looking liquid and placed my hands around the beaker, raising it closer to my face. The smell was still pleasant, but the change in color wasn't helping me mentally. After a moment of hesitation, I bit the bullet and drank it.

With the serum finished up, I started feeling hot and began sweating a lot. Not too long after I felt dizzy and fell over onto the floor. As my vision started to blur, I noticed my skin beginning to glow. Before long, a bright light filled my vision, and I passed out soon after.

~~~}|{~~~

I woke up to find Mel standing above me, her face visibly full of shock. I also noticed a pointed nose in my field of view, which hadn't been there before I passed out. I rolled over, getting in a better position to get up, which caused almost every muscle I had to burn in retaliation. As I propped myself on all fours, I noticed that my hands were no longer hands, but paws.  
"Mel… Can you get me a mirror?" I asked, afraid of what I was going to find.  
When she didn't answer, I looked at her intently and asked again.  
"Can you get me a mirror?"  
I noticed her ears fall flat as I said those words. She nodded and hurriedly rushed away to the back of the lab. I took the chance to try and stand up; my balance was a little off and as such I had to keep my paw on the table to avoid falling over again. And I immediately took in how short I was. Whereas before, I was easily a foot and a half taller than Mel, by now I was slightly shorter than her, by at least 3-4 inches. She came back with a metallic platter and handed it over; as I held it up to reveal my face, I couldn't help but laugh.

My reflection showed a white furred animal, with a stark black nose and silver tipped ears. I was a fox, an arctic fox. As I continued to laugh, I set down the platter and hugged Mel.  
"I guess I won't be needing the Perception Filter anymore," I exclaimed as I held her at arm's length. "But you can still keep on working on it if you want."  
She didn't respond. She just blankly stared at me as she slowly backed away.  
"It can't…" She softly voiced.  
"Mel? What wrong?" I asked as I followed her, careful to try and keep my balance. "Are you okay?"  
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She yelled, causing me to recoil and fall over.  
As I propped myself up again, the vixen curled into a ball and started sniffling. I figured it would be better to leave her alone for a bit, so I went back to analyzing my new body in the makeshift mirror. I was amazed at how much I had changed; it had even changed my eye-color to a sort of amber-green.  
I paused at that detail for a bit. Where had I heard that before?  
I looked over to the crying vixen; she had said that her fiancé was a fox with amber-green eyes. And here she was, shocked by my new appearance. I had an assumption at that point, and the prospect of it being true was very scary.

* * *

 **A/N: OMG, cliffhanger! Why?! Anyways how'd y'all like this chapter. And I'm curious who thought the whole transformation process was clever. And can anyone identify the reference in this one? If so let me know. I always like to read what y'all say. Also, I'm having a poll on which universe Chris should go next. And I'm also up for suggestions. Anyways, until next time, "Peace Out".**


	8. Conflict of Interest

**A/N: Hey guys, sry 4 taking so long but that's not something I can control with school going on.** **Any who, I'm gonna make a new story. It's gonna be more like a brain dump kinda thing, you know. It's just so I can get some ideas out there for you and quite possibly me to try out. Anyways let's get right to the story, Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8  
Conflict of Interest**

?'s POV

 _I circled the oil platform in the helicopter, waiting for him, impatience wracking my bones. An explosion on the lower decks startled me.  
"Come on, Jack…" I muttered.  
More explosions, smoke billows up through the decks, and finally, he appears from inside, Jack Savage.  
I make for a landing at the helipad, but the platform's support structure buckles from the heat and I have to back off. The hare motions to the other side of the platform, I nod and fly on over. As the platform tips and makes its way into the depths of the ocean, I see Jack sprinting to the other side right under me. I position the helicopter near the walkway and wait for him. In just the nick of time, as the platform relinquishes to gravity and falls, Jack jumps over the rail and manages to grab onto the landing gear.  
Jack looks onto the smoldering wreckage that was the oil platform.  
"Thanks for the help," he told me. "You just might make an agent yet."  
An explosion rattles the helicopter and alarms start blaring. Jack looks outside to see the cause.  
"Corvax," he muttered. "Looks like you still have a few breaths after all."  
The hare grabs a parachute and positions himself to jump.  
"What are you doing?" I cried out, struggling to keep the helicopter in the air.  
"I have a score to settle, you just try and land this bird," he said, flashing a smile. "See you at the after-party."  
And he jumped, leaving me alone with the smoking helicopter and annoying alarms. It's okay, I can land this; I've flown a helicopter before.  
Wait, no I haven't.  
I can't land this!  
Aaaaaaaah!_

-!{[=_=]}!-

I found myself waking up in a cold sweat, my alarm-clock blaring in my ear.  
 _'Next time, I'll record Savage Seas instead of watching it that late,'_ I thought to myself as I rolled over to shut up my alarm.  
As my paw slipped away from the now silent clock, I jumped up from my bed as I realized what time it was.  
 _'Crap! I'm going to be late!'_

I threw off the covers and ran to my closet, my brain running at a hundred miles an hour. I only had a limited amount of time to actually get ready and run to the institute; should I eat or shower? Eat or shower?  
I take a whiff of my nightgown and scrunch my nose at the smell.  
 _'Definitely a shower.'_

~~~}|{~~~

Cleaned up and ready, I grabbed my lab coat and left my apartment. As I turned the corner, I noticed the elevator doors closing on a tall figure. Not wanting to wait for the next ride down I rushed towards them.  
"Holdthedoorholdthedoorholdthedoor!" I yelled as I made my way down the hall.  
The doors stopped halfway, leaving the way open for me to squeeze through.

"Thanks… For that…" I wheezed, trying to catch my breath.  
"No problem. You're just lucky I'm feeling nice today," the figure seemed to tease.  
"Lucky me," I chuckled as the elevator opened onto the lobby.  
"Well, me and my… Cousin have to get going."  
I looked around to find none other than Melody walk out of the elevator, pulling the tall figure behind her.

"Some of us have to be on time for our diplomas," the vixen chimed as she sauntered off.  
 _'Oh, you want to pick a fight? Fine.'_  
"Well look who's talking, Fox," I spat as I stepped into the lobby.  
That got her attention; she stopped in the middle of the room, causing the tall figure to stumble. Melody spun around and marched right up to my face.

"You know what? That's it. I've had enough of your bull shit, Mandy. So why don't you buzz off or so help me I'll BUILD YOUR GRAVE MYSELF!"  
If it were anyone else, I'd be scared. But this was Melody. Even with her claws out, she didn't mean a single word of it. And I intended to use that to my advantage.  
"Oh please. Like you'll do anything," I replied as bitterly as I could. "Ever since we were kids, you've always been the lazy one out of the three of us. To be honest, I'll never understand why Jackson even liked you."  
And I regret blurting that out; the vixen grabbed me by the collar with pain in her eyes.  
"DON'T YOU EVER SAY HIS NAME!" Mel choked. "IF YOU DO, I'LL… I'LL..."  
"Just say it!" I yelled, trying to get her to move on.  
"Okay, that's it," the tall figure interjected as he split us up. "Now quit your shit, before I have to make you do it myself."

I backed away from Melody's "cousin" and straightened my shirt.  
"I know that you two LADIES are better than this," he continued. "So I'm going to put my arms down and you're both going to apologize, shake paws, and walk away. Are we clear?"

"Fine," I replied with Melody.  
"I'm sorry for threatening you," she said; though I could tell she wasn't happy about the outcome.  
"I'm sorry for egging you on," I told her, making sure to match her tone.  
As we shook paws, I saw a slight hint of sadness in her eyes, but it was quickly gone as she turned her back to me.  
"Good," our referee stated. "Now Mel, I think we should be going."  
"Yeah… We should," the vixen replied as she made her way to the door.  
As I watched them leave the lobby, the tall figure's hood got blown back by the wind. And what I saw shocked me to no end.  
That wasn't a fox or any sort of animal that I had ever seen before. What was Melody trying to pull, calling him her cousin? My meeting at the institute could wait; I had to get to the bottom of this.

~~~}|{~~~

Following the two down the street, I wondered why the tall animal was hiding himself under his hood. What was he hiding from? Was someone after him? Who was he?  
These questions led to more questions, all of which I craved answers for. But my research would have to wait since the odd duo entered the Savannah Central Institute. I should've figured this was where Melody was leading him; she was a student here after all, plus she had her lab coat on. I texted my teammates at the Zootopia Institute, on the other side of the district. I wasn't going to be able to make it to the meeting; they'd have to start without me.  
I rushed through the halls of the building, looking for Melody and the mystery figure until I spotted her walking away from a classroom. I waited for her to turn the corner before sneaking to the door and testing the handle.  
 _'Locked. Should've known that would be the case.'_

I made note of the location of the classroom and exited the building, circling the grounds until I arrived at where I thought was the correct room. I ducked into the bushes under the windows and peered inside. The room was, in fact, a student's lab. The walls were lined with cabinets full of chemicals and equipment, and the floor was rowed with tables. In the corner of the room, I spotted the mystery animal at the computer. Although his hood was pulled back, revealing a head of dark hair, he had his back to me. So I waited for him to leave the computer in order to get a good look at what he was.

I waited for what seemed like forever; the entire time I tried deciphering what it was the mystery figure was researching. Bits and pieces of local culture, maps of the city; I got the impression that whoever this was, they were a foreigner. When he finally stepped away from the computer, I immediately started taking mental notes. No fur, flat face, thin build, long appendages, definitely a mammal; from what I could guess, he looked like some form of primate. As I took note of his features, the mystery mammal started collecting chemicals and beakers.  
 _'I hope this guy doesn't blow up the building…'_

While watching the figure mix chemicals and leave them brewing, I wondered what it was he was trying to accomplish. I saw him constantly reading a notepad that he had laid out, but from my perspective, I couldn't make out what was on it. And my lack of knowledge in the chemistry department wasn't helping me either.  
After a long wait of watching, the door to the lab opened up, and in walked Melody. She looked surprised at the state of the lab and she even seemed to voice this concern, but the windows were muffling the conversation she was holding with the figure. She went over to a free table and pulled out some machine parts, which caught my interest immediately. There was no way that those were of Melody's design; they seemed way too sleek judging from the casing, and the circuit boards were compacted like crazy, they seemed almost impossible to make with current technology.  
 _'I need to get a closer look at whatever gadget that is.'_

I backed away from the window sill and made my way back inside. Arriving at the door to the lab I carefully tested the door. Fortunately, Melody was careless enough to leave it unlocked this time. I opened it a crack and from what I could see, Melody was hunched over the parts, toying away at them.  
Eventually, she groaned in frustration and laid back in her chair.  
"Is everything okay on your end?" I heard the figure ask.  
"It's this Perception Filter," Melody explained while gesturing to the parts. "I just can't seem to figure it out, and I'm not putting it back together until I do."

The mystery mammal muttered something incomprehensible.  
"What was that?" The vixen questioned, turning around in her seat.  
"Nothing." He responded.  
Melody sighed and got up from her seat.  
"Screw it. I need a break from this. Mind getting a paw?"

This was my chance to get a good look at what Melody was working on. I opened the door just enough to let me through and closed it just as carefully. As the vixen went over to help the figure with his chemical experiment, I snuck around to the table she was working at. As I figured before, the casing was too futuristic and the circuit boards too complex for it to be her design. Even if she was an accomplished engineer, she even said she was having trouble figuring out what this 'Perception Filter' did. As I perused the parts along the table, I fell upon a small little piece of hardware; it looked like a gyroscope inside of a snow globe, at first glance. On closer inspection I found that the mechanical structure on the inside housed many prisms that played with the light; the liquid it was suspended in seemed to be some form of transparent gel that prohibited excessive movement of the prisms as they spun. I tried to find clues from the other parts as to what this device actually did, but before I could create a hypothesis, I overheard Melody:

"Fine, I'll get back to the Perception Filter then."  
Panicking, I ducked under the table and tried to crawl away undetected. That didn't work as well as I thought though, I noticed Melody's feet shuffling here and there as if she were looking for something.  
"Where is it?" I heard her say. "I swear, it was right here…"  
And then she crouched down under the table, where her eyes locked on me.  
"Mandy?" She asked in shock.  
"Hi Melody," I said as I gave a small wave.  
"What are you- Hey! I need that!" She exclaimed with her eyes wide, fixated on my other paw.  
I looked down to notice that I had pawed the snow-globe-like piece.  
"Um… I can explain," I said, backing away from the now growling vixen.  
She pounced on me, sending us into the middle of the lab. As she scratched at me, I tried keeping her at bay with one arm as I held the globe away from her with my other.  
"Clearly you don't even know what it does, so I figured you wouldn't mind if I took a look at it," I tried explaining to her, my words falling on deaf ears.  
 _'Fine. You want to play this stupid game of yours? Let's play!'_

I made us roll around under the tables, causing one of them to fall over, and I managed to sneak the globe into one of the trashcans. With that piece of hardware relatively safe, I started retaliating. I balled up my paw into a fist and gave my best punch straight into Melody's muzzle. She seemed stunned for a bit, and I felt very disgusted with myself for having done it. But the punch only enraged her further, and I found myself on the defensive again.  
Through the barrage of punches and scratches, something started to glow nearby. Melody noticed it too, as her onslaught slowed down as she looked up to the source of the light. I pushed her off and rushed to it, only to find that the figure was glowing a golden hue. Whatever was happening to him, science could only explain so much. But I didn't get a chance to make any hypotheses, as I was struck by behind and knocked out.

~~~}|{~~~

I woke up to find myself on a cold, hard floor, my head sore from the impact. Looking around, I found that I was in a closet. Testing the door, I found that the obvious had happened. Melody had locked me in here.  
'Why do you have to be such a bitch sometimes?'  
I looked around to find something that I could use to escape and noticed an air vent just above the shelving unit.  
 _'Hopefully, I won't be needing a screwdriver to pry that open,'_ I thought as I climbed up the unit.  
And hopefully, the garbage will not have been taken out yet. I wanted to get a proper look at that snow globe piece.

?'s POV

 _'Why does he seem so familiar?'_ I thought as I walked through the halls towards my class. _'I just met him, but I feel like I can trust him.'_  
I felt my heart start to race as I thought about it.  
 _'Ugh, why am I like this?'_ I groaned inwardly.  
I was so lost in thought; I didn't notice the mammal in front of me and bumped into them, falling backwards onto the floor.  
"Hey, watch it!" The bear exclaimed as he turned around. "Oh, Mel, are you okay?"  
He knelt down and offered me a paw to get up.  
"I'm fine, Garrett," I replied as I took his offer. "Thanks. I guess I should've paid more attention to where I was going."  
"It's fine," he said as I dusted myself off. "And it looks like the rest of the team decided to show up, too."  
I turned around to find the rest of our group down the hall, talking animatedly amongst themselves. As Aubrey glanced in our direction, she broke from the others and rushed over.

"Mel, Mel, Mel!" The squirrel excitedly called out. "I think we've come across a breakthrough in our project! Tell me you're free this afternoon. Please, please, please!"  
I gave an uneasy grin to her as she clutched my lab coat.  
"Actually-"  
"Ugh, Mel, seriously, we can only go so far if you don't help out," I heard Seth groan.  
I looked up at the rhino with a sour glare.  
"Well sor-ry for having some issues that I need to deal with," I retaliated.  
"Melody, we get it," Sarah spoke up. "You're in pain. But unless you start letting people in, you're not going to get over it."  
I groaned, ever since Jackson disappeared they've been worried about how I was feeling. And yes, I'm still hurt about it, but that's not what I had to deal with at the moment. I looked over at the gopher with a blank face.

"For once Sarah, this is something else entirely," I told her.  
"But of course, you'll want to deal with it alone," Connor stated.  
"Yes, and for a very good reason," I agreed with the badger.  
"Whatever," he replied. "Just be sure to save some time for our project, we really need your help."  
And almost as if to emphasize his point, the bell rang for class.  
"Alright, alright," I admitted. "I'll meet up with you guys sometime this week; I'll see when I'm free."  
"Yay!" Aubrey jumped with joy as she sped into the classroom.  
"Looks like someone isn't letting a stressful deadline get to them," Garrett commented.

~~~}|{~~~

As the last lecture of the day came to a close, I waved goodbye to my friends and headed for the lab, almost dragging my feet as I did so. It probably wasn't a good idea to dismantle that earpiece early in the morning. As I opened the door to the student's lab, I stopped mid-yawn to see the surprising state of the room.

"Okay, I wasn't expected this," I stated as I stepped inside.  
"Well you did give the go ahead if I wanted to try making that formula," Chris explained.  
And go ahead he did, among the equipment that was strewn about the lab, three beakers were bubbling while he was working on a fourth.  
"I didn't think you were actually going to try though," I admitted.  
"Well thanks for the vote of confidence," he deadpanned.

"Your welcome," I joked with a sly grin. "Now since you don't seem to be needing any help…"  
I walked over to a free table and took out the Perception Filter parts.  
"… I'll just go ahead and start up on this," I finished.  
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever," he replied, returning to his chemicals.

I had thought that a break from the problem might have helped get a new perspective, but I was still stumped on how the Perception Filter actually worked.  
'Why can't I figure this damn thing out!' I thought as I pulled at my ears, groaning in frustration.  
"Is everything okay on your end?" I heard Chris ask.  
"It's this Perception Filter," I explained, sulking. "I just can't seem to figure it out, and I'm not putting it back together until I do."  
'My curiosity will kill me if I don't,' I thought to myself just as Chris muttered something under his breath.  
"What was that?" I asked him.  
"Nothing," he hastily replied.

I sighed and stepped away from the mess of parts.  
"Screw it. I need a break from this," I admitted. "Mind getting a paw?"  
"Sure, I'm just about done anyway," he replied.  
As I made my way over, Chris explained what was left to do:  
"We need to mix the solutions together then add this…"  
He held up a jar full of golden liquid that was labeled as 'REGENERATION ENERGY'.  
"… As well as a sample of my blood."

"Why your blood?" I asked, slightly confused by the detail.  
"I dunno," he shrugged. "Maybe so it'll only work on me?"  
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," I commented.  
"Trust me when I say that this runs second on my list of most ridiculous things," he replied as he fished out another beaker for the last mixture.

As we poured each solution into the beaker, the serum shifted in colour; while each component started out in a variety of grays, the final liquid went from crimson to violet to Navy bue before settling on a metallic brownish-green. All the while, its smell grew worse over time; it was like someone had condensed a landfill inside that beaker.  
"Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick," I commented as I caught a whiff of the serum.  
"You're going to be sick?" Chris exclaimed. "You're not the one drinking it!"  
"You're seriously going to drink THAT?" I asked in surprise, trying to cope with burning in my nose.  
"Well I'm sure as hell not going to take a shower with it," he replied with evident sarcasm.  
"Smartass," I commented as I opened a drawer. "I mean you could take it as an injection instead."  
I showed him a syringe as I said this and he backed off; I grinned inwardly.  
"With this, you wouldn't have to worry about the smell or, god forbid, the taste," I explained. "And it would probably render the serum a lot more effective, especially if we did a direct injection to the heart."  
He blinked.

I grinned.  
"Got you," I laughed. "Did you really think I was going to put that into your heart?"  
"Sorry, I forgot to laugh," Chris scowled.  
"Oh come on," I chuckled. "Your reaction was hilarious."  
"And I think you've helped enough," he coldly replied as started uncapping the jar of golden liquid.  
"Fine," I huffed as I made for my workstation. "I'll get back to the Perception Filter then."

As I got to the table, something felt off. A quick perusal of the parts revealed that one of them was missing, the one that looked like a snow globe.  
"Where is it?" I thought out loud as I scoured the surrounding area. "I swear, it was right here…"  
 _'Maybe it rolled off the table?'_ I thought as I crouched down to look on the floor, only to find a familiar otter hiding under the table.  
"Mandy?" I asked, shocked at her appearance here.  
"Hi Melody," she replied as she gave a small wave.  
"What are you-"

I noticed that the missing piece was in her other paw.  
"Hey! I need that!" I shouted, pissed.  
She looked down at her paw.

"Um… I can explain," Mandy said as she backed away.  
I didn't care for what she had to say; I was tired, frustrated, and still angry with her for this morning. So I pounced on her, causing us to roll into the middle of the room. She held me back at arm's length as I tried to scratch at her, her other arm outstretched with the globe in-paw.  
"Clearly you don't even know what it does, so I figured you wouldn't mind if I took a look at it," she said.  
I still didn't care; that globe was mine, she had no business taking it. We rolled under some more tables and even caused one to fall over. As I was about to unleash some more scratches, I was stunned by a surprise punch from Mandy.  
For the first time in this entire fight, she actually fought back; and boy did it send me over the edge. In a fury, I delivered tenfold back; punches following scratches and so forth. I only paused when I noticed something glowing nearby. Mandy took advantage of this and pushed me off, rushing towards the source. Almost blinded by rage, I took hold of a nearby chair and swung it at Mandy; she crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Calming down slightly, I dragged the otter to a nearby closet and locked her in.

As I turned around, I finally took in what the source of the glowing was. It was Chris. His skin was taking on a golden hue and radiating a slight glow in every direction. He screamed as light shot out from his head and paws, I shielded my eyes with a free paw, but that was only the beginning.  
Everywhere his skin showed, white fur appeared. His previously flat face grew into a short muzzle and his paws grew claws. His ears moved towards the top of his head and pointed, while a tail seemed to sprout from nowhere. All the while, Chris shrank in size, eventually stopping to close to my height.  
As the light faded, and my eyes adjusted, Chris slumped to the floor. But what lay in front of me was so familiar that it sent shivers down my spine.  
 _'Oh my god, it…'_

"It can't be…" I breathed.  
I moved closer to the mammal that was in front of me, hoping for the impossible. I stopped as he started waking up, that's when I noticed his eyes.  
 _'I know those eyes…'_  
He rolled over and tried to get up.  
"Mel…" He called out. "Can you get me a mirror?"  
My gut twisted as I heard his voice; it couldn't be…  
"Can you get me a mirror?" He asked as he stared straight at me.  
My ears fell flat as those eyes made my heart stop. I nodded and rushed to the back of the room, looking for something reflective. I came back to him with a metal platter; he was holding himself up with the help of the table. He took the platter and held it to look at himself. He laughed, and my breath was taken away by his laugh. He laid down the platter and surprised me with a hug.  
 _'His eyes… His laugh… Even this hug…'_  
"I guess I won't be needing the Perception Filter anymore," he exclaimed as he brought me to arm's length. "But you can still keep working on it if you want."  
 _'But it's not him…'_

I broke from his grasp and backed away.  
"It can't…" I painfully whispered.  
"Mel? What's wrong?" The fox in front of me asked. "Are you okay?"

I couldn't take it anymore; I wanted Jackson back, but this wasn't him. As he walked towards me, fear welled up inside.  
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I yelled, causing him to fall to the floor.  
I slumped down into a ball and let my own tears flow, the ghost my fiancé watching over me.


	9. Thanks For The Memories

**A/N: Hey Guys sorry for not being as active. I've been trying to keep my grades up as well as not sucking in x-country. But don't worry, I'll always upload. It'll be a while but I will upload. As for the brain dump I'm still working on the first concept so don't expect it to be out so soon. Anyways this will be a short chapter so enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9  
** **Thanks For The Memories**

Chris's POV

I was sitting impatiently in the lab, waiting for Melody to stop her sobbing. I don't know how long I sat there, but I only got more and more uncomfortable by the minute. Emotionally because of the vixen's cries, and physically because of the new tail that I'd grown; no matter how much I shifted in my seat, my tail felt squished and pinched.  
Eventually, I couldn't stand it anymore and walked over to Melody. She looked up at me with wet fur plastered against her face.

"Look," I started. "This is just as difficult for me as it is for you. I've given you some space, but I don't think I can stand another moment here."  
I offered her my hand, now a paw.  
"So can we pack up and leave?"  
She wiped away her remaining tears and took my offer.  
"Thanks, Ja- Chris," she caught herself as I helped her up.  
And that pretty much confirmed my guess.

As we were getting close to finishing cleaning up, I couldn't help but finally notice that the otter was gone.  
"Hey Mel, where's Mandy?" I asked, her ears perking up.  
"Uh… She left… When you… You know, transformed," she replied hesitantly.  
I groaned.

"I hope this doesn't come bite me in the butt later."  
"She may be a pain, but I don't think she'll rat you out. She's just as curious as me," Melody assured me.  
"I hope you're right," I said as I put the last of the equipment in the cupboards. "Now that we're done cleaning here, can we go?"  
"Before we do, you might want to grab your pants that are on the floor over there," she answered while pointing over my shoulder.  
I followed her gaze and, just as she said, found my pants lying on the floor in a heap. I instantly looked down and lifted up my sweater that now went to my knees; all I was left with were my boxers.

"Dammit, Mel! Why didn't you say something earlier!?" I shouted over her laughing.  
"Because it's hilarious!" The vixen cackled. "You didn't even notice that you were half-naked!"  
I scowled as I picked up my now too big pants. She was right, I hadn't even noticed; I wanted to blame it on my newly grown fur keeping me warm, but I thought that Melody would've only laughed harder.  
"Well, all things considered, I'm going to need some new clothes anyway," I admitted.  
"Luckily enough, there's a place nearby," Melody replied, still recovering from her laughing fit.

It wasn't long before I started feeling uncomfortable again. For some odd reason, my feet were sore from the walking we were doing.  
"Hey Mel, mind if we stop for a minute?" I said as I knelt down.  
"Uh… Sure, but why?" The vixen asked as she cocked her head to the side.  
"My feet hurt," I flatly told her as I untied my hiking shoes.

As I took them off, the pressure on feet was relieved and I got my first look at them. They were slightly longer than before, which explained the soreness.  
"So… I've been meaning to ask, but…"  
Melody pointed at my shoes as I massaged my feet.  
"What are those for?"

"Seriously?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "Have you never heard of shoes before?"  
"Nope," she said with blatant innocence. "So what are they for?"  
"They're supposed to protect your feet and keep them comfortable," I told her. "But they haven't exactly been doing their job, lately."  
"Maybe you should stop wearing them, then," the vixen suggested.  
As much as I didn't enjoy the idea, I didn't really have much of a choice. I packed the shoes in the duffel bag along with my pants and we continued walking to the clothing store.

"Okay. What do you think?"  
I was standing outside of the changing rooms in my new getup, waiting on Melody's opinion. Along with an appropriately sized pair of jeans and shirt, I was wearing a green pullover with a red and gold plaid scarf around my neck, the whole thing topped off with a grey flat cap on my head.  
"Surprisingly… Not bad," Melody answered with some short nods.  
"Thank you," I sighed.  
Satisfied, I paid for the items and we headed back to her apartment. After such a long and bizarre day, I didn't even care to eat; I just wanted to get back to the couch and crash on it.

-!{[=_=]}!-

 _I found myself sitting on a bench in the middle of a park. A lake was spread out in front of me and a few trees spotted the area.  
"You know Jackson, you never cease to impress me," I heard a voice echo.  
I looked to my right to find a hazy figure, just out of focus. It was sitting on the bench and had started to lean against me as if to cuddle. My arm wrapped around the figure on its own as I began to talk with it._

 _"Did you like it?" I said with an Irish accent that wasn't my own.  
"You know I did, Sweetie," the figure answered, it's feminine voice familiar.  
"That's nice to hear because there's something I'd like to talk about. Do you mind if we walk for a bit?" I said as I got up from the bench.  
"Sure, why not? It's a beautiful night out, and it'd be a waste to just sit here," she said as she got up and kissed me on the cheek.  
We both started walking towards the lake, where I stopped her and held both of her paws in mine._

 _"We've been together for over six years now, and I've loved every second of it," I said. "And within that time, I've realized something. You've made me the happiest fox in Zootopia these past six years and I've decided that I wanted to keep it that way."  
I went down on one knee and pulled out a small velvet box from my pocket. Opening it up, I offered it up to her and the haze that surrounded her started to fade away.  
"Melody Lauraine Vulpez, I love you more than anyone I've ever met. You've made me happy ever since the day I first saw you; and I'd love to be with you for the rest of my life, up until my dying breath. I'm only asking you one thing. Will you marry me?"_

 _The vixen in front of me was wet with tears with a wide smile on her face.  
"Oh, Jackson," she sniffed. "Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!"  
And she pounced on me, having us roll in the cool grass as we shared a deep kiss and the scene faded to black.  
But the darkness didn't last long as a flurry of images and emotions rushed through me. A pressure in my head started to build and I started to scream._

-!{[=_=]}!-

I woke up screaming, my head under pressure. Images flashed in front of me whenever I blinked. A ring. A smile. A kiss. All these things that I'd never seen before, piling and piling in my head with the pain steadily increasing. I must have woken up Melody because she came running into the room in a pajama set.  
As soon as I laid eyes on her, the pain started to fade and I was finally able to catch my breath. A new feeling welled up from inside and I felt tears fall from my eyes. I smiled at her.  
"I missed you," I whispered in that Irish accent from my dream.  
And then I drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

 **A/N: OMG, what just happened. Looks like there's more to that serum than meets the eye. Now you guys are going to have to wait in order to see the rest of the serum's side affects. Well I hope you enjoyed the chapter and pls** **review. I'd love to hear what you guys have to say. And thank you guys for all of the support, it truly means a lot to me. As well as the nice reviews.**


	10. A Day's Beginning

**A/N: Happy Hallowe'en everyone. Sorry for not posting lately. But I am happy to tell you that X-Country season is over which means no more after school sports 'till spring. Anyways Enjoy. XD (Sorry for the short / Late chapter but as this was originally planned for Hallowe'en but that didn't work out so well.)**

* * *

 _ **As Scorpio Claws The Moonlit Sky,**_  
 _ **The Bats And Owls In Flight Soar.**_

 _ **The Fog Is Thick; The Night Air, Chill,**_  
 _ **And Shadows Shift Upon The Hill.**_

 _ **The Jacks Smile Wide As Willows Weep,**_  
 _ **As If Dark Secrets They Do Keep.**_

 _ **The Spirits Rise, The Dead They Roam,**_  
 _ **While Witches Recite Their Evil Tomes.**_

 _ **This Halloween; This Mystic Night,**_  
 _ **Makes Mortals Wary Of Ghostly Sights.**_

 _ **For The Veil Is Lifted To Worlds Unseen,**_  
 _ **On This Hallowed Night Of Hallowe'en.**_

 **HAPPY HALLOWE'EN LITTLE KIDDIES**  
 **FOR ALL HALLOWS EVE HAS YET TO BEGIN.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10  
A Day's Beginning**

Melody's POV

All I heard was a scream. The next thing I knew, I was rushing to the living room where Chris was. He was on the floor, rolling around and clutching his head. For some reason, it was glowing just like he did back in the lab. I called out to him, wanting to calm him down. His erratic movements slowed down as I talked and got closer. Finally lying still on his back, Chris opened his eyes. A hint of gold danced in them as he looked at me. As the foreign color faded, Chris continued to stare, but it almost felt like someone else was looking at me instead. His eyes stared at me full of hurt, but also with joy. The feeling was momentary though, as Chris passed out soon after.

Chris's POV

I woke up to a fading headache.  
It took me a moment to remember where I was; Melody's apartment, her living room, her couch. Despite the time shown on the clock, I took notice that she wasn't up before me this time. I don't know why, but I felt the urge to make breakfast for the both of us. I argued that it was to repay her hospitality at the time. As I looked through the fridge though, I found a lack of food to cook with.  
 _'Jesus, there's absolutely nothing in here,'_ I thought to myself. _'I guess I better do a few groceries, then.'_

~~~}|{~~~

"Mmmm… Something smells good in here," Melody commented as she shuffled in the kitchen. "Watcha making?"  
"I thought I'd make some blueberry waffles with a strawberry coulis to top it," I explained as I set the foodstuffs on the table. "I've also made buttermilk biscuits and some scrambled eggs."  
"Wow," the vixen said, stunned. "You didn't have to, but thank you."  
"Well, it's the least I could do," I shrugged. "You've been helping me a lot, so I figured…"  
"It's not THAT big of a deal."

While we ate, I couldn't help but notice Melody's look of shock all over her face.  
"Is it… Bad?" I asked, more out of curiosity.  
"No. This is amazing!" She smiled as she took another bite. "Where did you learn to cook like this?"  
"Well, I took a cooking class in school, but I mostly picked things up here and there," I told her almost nonchalantly.  
"Well I think you would do well in a kitchen," the vixen commented. "You could probably even open up a bakery, or a restaurant."  
I chuckled at her confidence.  
"Maybe."

When we left the apartment after our wonderful breakfast, Melody and I noticed our friendly neighborhood otter already down the hall, waiting for the elevator.  
"Okay, I don't want to break up another fight, so just stay quiet until she's gone," I whispered to the vixen as we walked in Mandy's direction. "Okay?"  
She nodded in response, seemingly content with the idea. As we reached the elevator doors next to the otter, I couldn't help but notice Mandy's look of shock as she saw me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Melody trying not to laugh. The otter seemed quite terrified at my presence, but I was confused as to why; and all the while, something in the back of my mind was absolutely furious with her.  
"J-Jackson... Umm… How have you been?" Mandy asked with obvious unease.

I mentally facepalmed. How could have I forgotten that I no longer looked like myself? No wonder she looked terrified; she was more than likely looking at the image of a possibly dead mammal. I was about to tell her otherwise, but, again, something in the back of my mind told me to roll with it.  
"Oh, I've been fine. How 'bout you Lass?" I asked in my best Irish accent. "Mel 'ere hasn't given you any problems, has she?"

"I-I've been doing good," Mandy replied with a hint of confusion. "And no! She's been, uh, peachy!"  
"That's good," I said with a pat on her shoulder. "Oh, and just call me Jack from now on. Sound good?"  
"O-kay?"

As the elevator doors opened, Melody and I stepped in, leaving a very confused looking otter behind in the hall as we went down.  
"Well, that went smoothly," I commented before looking over at the vixen.  
She looked at the floor in longing for a moment before meeting my gaze. I didn't know why, but in that moment I felt the urge to hug and comfort her for some unknown reason. I thought better of it though, fearing a punch to the face.

~~~}|{~~~

Melody and I made our way back to her personal lab at the Institute. But we didn't expect a crowd to already be there when we opened the door. As we stepped in the room, a bear made their way over to us.


	11. Greetings & Salutations

**A/N: hey guys Electro here. And boy do I have something waiting for you. But it won't be till the end so brace yourselves. Plus it'll a nice little reference to, by now, would be a classic for videogames. I mean you just can't forget an amazing game like this, anyways. I hope you enjoy, please reveiw cause I like to see y'alls opinions. Electro out.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11  
Greetings & Salutations**

Chris's (Jack's) POV

At first, the bear seemed quite happy to see us. That was until he saw me. His expression went from gleeful to infuriated faster than you can say 'Hello'. The next thing I knew, I was on the opposite end of the classroom with a bloody nose and a sore jaw. And I was pretty sure something else was broken too. But before I even had a chance to register what was happening, the bear lifted me up by the throat to his eye level.

"H-hey buddy, how've you been?" I wheezed in my Irish accent. "Umm… I'll be honest wit' you. I don' know who you are, or what I did to piss you off. So how 'bout you put me down and we can talk 'bout this. Sound good?"  
"Bullshit, you know what you did," he snarled. "You just left without a trace. Do you know how badly you hurt Mel? I swear, you have a lot of gall to be showing your face…"  
I didn't hear the rest of his rant over the sounds of Melody and the other animals pulling the bear away from me. I fell to the floor in a slump and was gasping for air. Panic was starting to set in since I couldn't breathe, but then a warm familiar glow flowed through my jaw and neck; I could breathe again.

I looked over to the other animals as I got back on my feet; Melody seemed to be explaining something just out of earshot, and looks of sympathy seemed to wash over their faces as they glanced in my direction. I felt a pang of guilt in the back of my mind.

The bear broke away from the group and came over to me. As much as I didn't feel like getting beaten to a pulp a second time, I stood my ground and glared at him.  
"Hey, sorry about that…" He unexpectedly apologized. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have tried to strangle you."  
 _'Tried to?'_ I had thought. _'You WERE.'_  
"And if what Mel says is true, then I guess I should reintroduce myself," the bear said as he offered his paw. "Name's Garret Grizolli."  
I almost made a double take at the name.  
"Uh, okay… I'll accept your apology then," I replied as I shook his paw. "I'm Jack Frost."  
"Yeah, we know who you are," Garret chuckled.  
"Oh…"  
"Hey, don't worry about it," he encouraged with a pat on my shoulder as he let a rhino take his place.  
I thought I felt small next to Garret, but this rhino was a giant compared to me. He even had to crouch down in order to offer his hoof.  
"Hey Jack, I'm Seth Ceroston," he introduced. "It's good to see ya, bud."  
 _'Okay, this is getting weird,'_ I thought as I shook his hoof.  
Before I could process the weirdness though, I was suddenly hit by a ball of fur that wrapped around my midsection.  
"Hey Jack!" It spoke in an excited manner, before releasing me.  
It turned out to be a squirrel.  
"It's so good to see you again!" She exclaimed while bouncing in place. "But since you probably don't remember me, I'm Aubrey Larkashew!"  
Looking at her, I wasn't quite sure if this was her normal demeanor or if she was on a sugar high by how excited she looked.  
Aubrey skittered off as a gopher walked up; or was it a groundhog? I always mix those two up.  
"Hiya there, Jack," she greeted. "It's been a while. I'm Sarah Carcamas."  
I couldn't help but grin at the name as I shook her paw.  
The last member of the group was a badger.  
"Hey dude," he lazily greeted as he offered a fist. "Name's Connor Cratel."  
I gave him a fist bump and he rejoined his friends in whatever it was they were up to, finally giving me a chance to wrap my head around the names. Oddly enough, they were all familiar to me; my friends back home had similar names.

Melody suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me into the hall.  
"We're leaving, now," she explained.  
"Woah, wait. We can't just leave," I said as I escaped her grip. "We just got here, and your friends seem nice."  
"Yes, they are. But that doesn't change the fact that we can't risk having you exposed!" She hissed.  
"Look, in case you forgot, my bag is still in there. And judging by the trouble you seemed to be having yesterday, maybe some extra brainpower will be helpful. And by the way, what did you tell them earlier?"  
"I, uh, told them you got hit by a car…" She trailed off.  
"By a car," I repeated.  
"And that you lost your memory…"  
"Uh-huh."  
"And that you were wandering around for the past few days."  
"Right… Thanks for that," I said unamused.  
"Okay! I'm sorry!" She exclaimed. "I just- I was worried when Garret had you at the throat. I panicked."  
"It's fine, Mel. It's fine," I sighed.  
"And yeah, you're right," she admitted. "They'll probably be able to help. I still need to run some diagnostics on your biological makeup, find out what exactly… Changed…"  
She face palmed.  
"Shit! I forgot to take a sample! Now we've got nothing to compare you to. Ugh! How could I forget something so basic!"  
I grabbed her wrists before she got to hitting herself.  
"Mel! Calm down. I'm sure we can find whatever it is you need. Heck, it might even be in my bag," I joked. "I mean, so far, nothing but good has come out of that thing."  
She giggled at the statement.  
"Okay. You can let go of me now."

As we stepped back into the lab, Connor came up to us while holding my duffel bag.  
"Hey Mel, is this your bag? Because we can't seem to get it open," he quickly added.  
"Oh, uh… Actually-"  
"It's mine actually," I said as I stepped forward and took the bag.  
"Well you might want to think about getting some grease for that zipper or something because-"  
The badger went silent as I opened the bag with ease.  
"But… How did… Not ev…" The badger stuttered as he looked at the open bag.  
"What? It's not just a zipper," I told him. "It's a nano-scaled bio-recognition lock. I mean, honestly, did you think I'd leave anything important in here without it being secure?"  
Melody and Connor both looked at me with stunned expressions. And to be honest, I was surprised myself. The information came from somewhere in the back of my mind, not from my own thoughts.  
"I'm kidding, you know," I chuckled evasively. "The zipper tends to get stuck sometimes; you guys must've loosened it up while we were outside."  
"Uh… Right."

As Melody was catching up with her group of friends, I was looking through the contents of the bag. I found a small thumb drive with a small tag attached to it. It read:

 _HOMO-SAPIEN BIOLOGICAL DATA/CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY BIOLOGICAL DATA/VULPES LAGOPUS (SAPIEN) BIOLOGICAL DATA_

 _'Well… That's convenient,'_ I thought to myself as I pocketed it. _'Better show this to Mel later.'_  
I fished out what I was looking for not long after, the envelope containing the various blueprints. I figured they would give me some better insight on what exactly each of the gadgets in the bag could do. The first blueprint I pulled out was for the pair of white boots that took up the bulk of the space. As I eyed the schematics, I felt a weird sense of familiarity with them. And just as suddenly, it dawned on me as I looked again at the name of the gadget:

 _SHOCK ABSORBER (LONG-FALL) BOOTS_

I facepalmed as I cursed myself for not recognizing such a simple gadget, then immediately wondered if they would work just like in the game. I put the schematics away and pulled out the boots as I walked on over to Melody and her friends.  
"Hey Mel, do you know where the tallest skyscraper is?" I asked her, meriting me a lot of weird looks.  
"Um… The tallest one is in Downtown Square, just off of Peak Street," she answered. "Why?"  
"Well if you show me the way, I can show you why," I said with a smirk. "And you're all free to join as well."

* * *

I was now standing on the rooftop of Antelope Heights, staring down the twisting building to the street below. While my fear of heights was not that big of a deal to begin with, it certainly got worse now that I was a small fox.  
"So what exactly are we doing here?" Mel asked as I slipped on the Aperture Science Long-Fall Boots.  
She was the only one to accompany me to the top, the rest of the group I had asked to stay down at street level.  
"What do you think I'm here to do?" I asked as I made a few test jumps in place.  
"Are you going to throw something off the edge?"  
"Replace 'something' by 'me' and you would be correct," I said as I approached the ledge.  
"WHAT!?" She shouted as she grabbed my arm to stop me. "ARE YOU INSANE!?"  
"I'm perfectly fine, Mel," I told her as I removed her paw. "And if these boots are the real deal, then I'll be fine when I hit the ground as well."  
"What are you talking about!?"  
"Mel. Just trust me on this," I said as I turned my back to the edge. "See you street-side."  
And with a small salute, I jumped.

I had never gone parachuting before, but I can understand now why people love it. The sense of weightlessness as the wind rushes past is amazing. Well, at least it felt amazing after I was terrified by my idiocy. Why in god's name did I think that it was a good idea to jump off the tallest building in Zootopia based on the assumption that I was going to be saved by a piece of technology from a video-game?

That was all that ran through my head for the first five seconds of my fall. Then I briefly enjoyed the rest of what I thought was going to be my last moments. By about the tenth second, I could feel some vibration in the boots. While for most of my fall I was facing the pavement, I was then shifted to an upright position, falling feet-first. Just before I hit the ground, it felt as though time had slowed down. The boots impacted the sidewalk, cracking in a spider-web around me, and dust was blown away from the shockwave.

I stood there for a moment, legs bent, arms outstretched, and my tail as stiff as a board. I was still fazed by the fact that I was still alive. I let out a small chuckle, which soon became a fit of full-blown laughter as I was rushed by Melody's group. A crowd of bystanders surrounded us with chatter as they tried to understand what had happened. It didn't take long for the vixen herself to join the fray; a look of worry was all over her face as she broke from the crowd.  
"See Mel! I told you to trust me!" I exclaimed as I walked over to her.  
The only response I got was a fist to the snout from a clearly unhappy Melody.


	12. Impact

**Chapter 12  
Impact**

Chris's (Jack's) POV

I was reeling from Melody's punch, clutching my nose as it throbbed in pain.  
 _'Man, can she throw a punch,'_ I thought as I tested for blood.  
Luckily, she hadn't burst a blood-vessel with her attack.  
"What was that for?!" I shouted in her direction.  
"THAT was for jumping off a building, you asshole!" She retaliated, her fur bristling. "You could've died!"

"Yeah, well, I didn't," I replied as I massaged my snout.  
She crossed her arms and pouted.  
"Jackson at least had some common sense," I heard her mumble.  
The words tugged at me for some reason, like it hurt to hear them. Before I could say anything else I was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

Melody and I turned to find two ZPD officers, a rhino and a tiger, had pushed through the crowd and were staring at us with accusing glares.  
"Uh, mornin' Officers…" I greeted with a nervous smile.  
It was hard to forget that they were the same officers that had put me in jail a few days ago. But before either of them could respond, a deer pushed past them, followed by a wolf with a video camera on his shoulder.  
"Excuse me, sir. I'm Cassidy Deerbrooke from ZNN. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?" The reporter quickly asked.  
I looked towards Melody for a moment; she looked to be as surprised as me.  
"Um, sure. Why not?" I stumbled with my reply.  
"Can you tell us who you are?" She started.  
"I'm Jack Frost," I replied. "And this lovely vixen is my friend Melody Vulpez."

I turned to Melody's group behind us and started introducing them as well.  
"Over here we have Sarah Caramas, Aubrey Lakashew, Connor Cratel, Garret Grizolli, and Seth Ceroston," I said as I pointed each of them out. "These six mammals are all students of the Savannah Central Institute of Technology and Engineering."  
"Wow, quite a group you've got here," the doe commented. "Now, what exactly are you all doing here?"  
"Oh, well we just completed our first test on these boots that I'm wearing," I said more easily, pointing at the footwear.  
"But we heard an explosion. What does that have to do with boots?" She inquired.  
"Everything, actually," I casually replied. "What you heard was the impact shockwave of the boots contacting the sidewalk."  
"I'm sorry?"  
"These boots are experimental shock absorbers, which we've dubbed Long-Fall Boots. As the name implies, they're meant to take the impact of a…" I tried searching for some less cliché words, but couldn't find any. "Long fall."  
The crowd around us started giving small laughs, I think they mistook my hesitation for dramatic flair.  
"And how high of a fall are we talking about, Mr. Frost?" The reporter pressed.  
"Ummm…"

I looked up towards the top of the tower I had just jumped off of, if I had to guess maybe it was somewhere around two-thousand feet tall.  
"About the height of this building," I coolly replied.  
"Is this an estimate?"  
"Oh no, I just jumped it."  
The doe smiled.  
"Surely, you must be joking, sir."  
"I'm serious, she even saw me jump off," I told her, pointing at Melody. "If you want, I can do another demonstration."  
"OH NO, YOU DON'T!" Melody hastily shouted as she got between me and the reporter. "I'm sorry, but that's enough for your interview."  
"Mel, it's fine. We know it works. I can do another jump," I tried persuading her.  
She leaned in close to my face with an authoritative finger.  
"You. Are not. Jumping. Again."  
I nodded in comprehension before she walked past me. Almost immediately, I felt a tug in my lower back before feeling my balance fall backwards.  
"Hey!" I shouted as I stepped backwards to try to stay upright.  
I look behind me revealed Melody pulling me by the tail out of the crowd and away from the news cast.

She practically dragged me for a full two blocks of embarrassment before she let go. I stroked my sore tail as she turned to scowl at me.  
"Jumping?! Again?!" She shouted. "What were you thinking?!"  
Honestly, I don't know why I offered to do that. It just seemed appropriate. Maybe to make myself feel awesome, or something?  
"Look, I'm sorry," I told her. "If it makes you feel any better, I promise I won't be jumping off any more buildings."  
She turned away with a huff.  
"You better keep that promise," I heard her say as she flashed a smile back.  
A smile that quickly faded when she saw me playing with my tail.  
"What?" I innocently asked as I hugged my fluffy appendage, I had only just noticed how soft it was.  
She facepalmed at the sight.  
"Let's just get back to my place," The vixen groaned.

* * *

 **The Universal Conversation**

 **[?]  
** \- Hello? Testing. One, two. Come on… Please be working. *Taps microphone* Okay good, not a waste of money then. Especially after I came this far.

 **Some Time Later**

 **[?]**  
\- Hello Listeners! No wait… Hello Readers, welcome to our first inter-dimensional talk show, The Universal Conversation!

 **[?]  
** \- Hey! What are you doing here? No, how did you get here? No, WHO are you?

 **[Electro]  
** \- I'm your host, Electro, and YOU are the first guest on this talk show. Everyone, please, a round of applause for our favourite inter-dimensional traveler. Christopher Anthony!

 **[Chris]**  
\- Look, I don't know how you know who I am, but I want you out of here. And who the hell are you talking to?

 **[Electro]**  
\- Mr. Anthony, how do you feel being in an entirely new world?

 **[Chris]**  
\- *Sighs* You know what? Fine. I'll play your game. It's weird, alright. Just plain weird. I miss my family and friends, but it's almost like everyone here is them just as much as they aren't. And I don't even know half of what's going on!

 **[Electro]**  
\- I see… *Takes a sip from a mug*

 **[Chris]  
** \- Is that coffee?

 **[Electro]  
** \- Yup. I helped myself to a cup while I was setting up.  
 ***Front door opens***

 **[?]**  
\- Hey Chris, I'm back. I got some takeout if your hun- Okay, who's the bird-brain?

 **[Electro]  
** \- Oh! Miss Vulpez! *Laughs nervously* I didn't expect you to be here so soon.

 **[Melody]  
** \- How do you- Nope. I'm not even going there. Get out.

 **[Electro]  
** \- Okay, let's just calm down and- *Gets stuffed into a bag* Hey! We can talk about this!  
 ***Front door slams shut***

 **[Electro]  
** \- *Gets out of the bag and dusts self off* Now that's just rude. Stuffed in a bag and thrown in the hallway. Well I guess that's all for today. This is Electro, see you next time.


	13. Reunion

**Chapter 13  
Reunion**

Chris's (Jack's) POV

After being half-dragged back to her apartment, Melody left saying she had classes to attend. As much as I would've liked to sit in with her, I concluded that it was probably better that I didn't show my face for a bit. I probably would've been even more bored anyway.  
I spent my time hopping between surfing the internet, playing around with my phone (which still wasn't working properly) and browsing the documents of upgrades in my duffel bag. It wasn't until around two o'clock that I heard a knock on the door. A peek through the peephole on the door revealed that it was Mandy.  
 _'What is SHE doing here?'_ I asked myself as I opened the door.  
"What can I do for ya, Mandy?" I asked as I donned my Irish accent again.  
"Oh I was wondering if I could take a look at those boots you have," the otter asked as she tried to look over my shoulder into the apartment.  
"Mel isn't 'ere, if that's what you're thinkin'," I told her. "And what're ya talkin' about 'boots'?"  
Mandy gave me one of those looks.  
"Really Jack? Your interview is all over the news," she explained. "Now can I see those boots or not?"  
"Well, cat's outta the bag then," I mumbled, causing the otter to give me an odd look. "What's in it for me if I let you see them?"  
"That depends," she said with an evasive stare. "What do you want?"  
"A place to stay," I said without thinking.  
"I thought you were living with Mel?"  
"It's just a temporary thing," I said as I leaned on the door-frame. "I was thinkin' about findin' a place in the snow district."  
"You mean Tundratown," Mandy corrected.  
"That's what I said. Now if you find me someplace nice, say, an apartment over a café or somethin' like that, I might let you look at those boots."  
"You want me to go apartment hunting for you?"  
I shrugged, feeling quite smug.  
"That's how the ship sails. Do we have a deal?" I asked as I offered my paw.  
She took my paw and flashed a grin.  
"Yeah, Jack. We have a deal."  
As her eyes shifted downward her grin vanished.  
"That's a very interesting necklace," she commented. "What's the cord made out of?"  
 _'Shit! I can't tell her it's made of leather; she'll probably think I'm a murderer,'_ I thought.  
"I made it out of a heavily weaved cotton polymer," I blurted, trying to sound convincing.  
She gave me a steely glare in response.  
"Okay. See you later, Jack," Mandy said as she walked away to her own apartment.  
It felt like I had dodged a bullet right then; my heart was pounding. I closed the door and went back to my random activities.

* * *

? POV

It was nice to be home after a long day of work. Sure, there was no rest in the day for a single mother, but home was home.  
"Sweetheart! I'm home!" I called down the hallway.  
My daughter peeked her snowy head out of her room to show that she heard.  
"Watt's for supper?" she quietly asked.  
"I was thinking Tuna Casserole, would you like to help me?" I offered, holding up the bag that held the fish I had bought on the way.  
She shook her head before closing her door again. I sighed in defeat; this wasn't the first time I had to deal with this kind of behavior, but it still wasn't pleasant.

I flipped on the news as I starting preparing supper, the usual politics and wash of rumours rattling on in the background.  
"… Jackson Frost, thought to have gone missing eight days ago…"  
I almost cut myself as I heard the newscaster say his name. I hastily washed my hands clean before rushing for the remote; what did they say? What was it about Jackson?  
I rewound the news feed, pressing play on the PVR once the snow leopard appeared again.  
"Earlier this morning, a fox was witnessed jumping off the Antelope Heights building in Savannah Central, shockingly walking away unscathed after he shook the street and the mammals walking by. Cassidy Deerbrooke was on the scene to interview the intrepid mammal just after he crashed down."  
The news then showed a deer standing on the street.  
"Yes, Fabienne, just this morning, in this very spot, I got to speak with the fox who survived the drop from the top of Antelope Heights. You can see that the sidewalk is still cracked right where he landed."  
The news anchor, Fabienne, appeared once again.  
"The fox was identified as twenty-two year-old Jackson Frost, thought to have gone missing eight days ago. He was accompanied by friends and students of the Savannah Central Institute of Technology and Engineering, testing what they called 'Long-Fall Boots'."  
The TV then showed an arctic fox speaking to Cassidy; I nearly cried when I saw his face.  
"These boots are experimental shock absorbers, which we've dubbed Long-Fall Boots," He explained. "As the name implies, they're meant to take the impact of a… Long fall."  
"And how high of a fall are we talking about, Mr. Frost?" Cassidy asked.  
"Ummm…"  
He looked up to the sky.  
"About the height of this building," He replied, gesturing the building.  
"Is this an estimate?"  
"Oh no, I just jumped it."  
"Surely, you must be joking, sir."  
"I'm serious, she even saw me jump off."  
He pointed to a vixen next to him, one that I knew too well. I turned off the TV and ran to get my coat.  
"Maddie! Get your jacket, we're going to see Melody!"

* * *

Chris POV

The sound of the door opening and closing dragged me from my mindless activities.  
"I've got takeout!" Mel called as she walked into the kitchen. "I hope you don't mind curry."  
"Curry's nice," I said while clearing the table.

We were just about done eating when we heard a knock at the door.  
"I'll get it," Melody said as she got up and left.  
As for me, I went ahead and started picking up the dishes.  
 _'I hope it's not some amateur reporter or something,'_ I thought to myself. _'And I sure as hell hope that it's not-SHIT.'  
_ I tossed the dishes in the sink before gunning it after Melody.  
"Mel! Don't open the… Door…"  
She had, of course, already opened it. On the one hand, it wasn't Mandy waiting in the hallway; on the other hand, I now had two arctic vixens staring at me with wide eyes.  
The taller of the two, which I had assumed as the oldest, quickly had me trapped in a bear-hug.  
"Oh baby, I thought I lost you. I thought I lost you," I heard her choke.  
"Umm… I'm sorry, do I know you?" I wheezed from between her iron grip.  
The vixen's hold fell away as she looked at me with teary eyes.  
"Jackson, please, that's not funny."  
"I'm not joking," I answered, sharing worried glances with Melody.  
"I'm your mother for god's sake."  
Fuck.  
"Uh, Mrs. Frost?" Melody cut in before I said something stupid. "Would you mind if I had a talk with Jackson for a bit? The living room is just down the hall."  
She dragged me away from the other two vixens before they could answer, pulling me into her room before closing the door and slipping to the floor.  
"God dammit," she exclaimed.  
"Mind filling me in?" I shot at her.  
"That was Jackson's mother, Melody Frost," she pointedly answered.  
"Yeah, I got that, why is she here?"  
"Obviously, she saw your little interview from this morning, genius!" She spat. "And I was there too, so she put two and two together and came straight here."  
"Okay and who's the other one?"  
"Jackson's little sister, Madelyn."  
"Great. So what now? Am I still playing the amnesiac fox that got hit by a car?" I sarcastically asked.  
"Yes," she said as she got up and opened the door. "And you better be careful with your words or you could seriously hurt someone."

We found Jackson's family sitting on the couch. As they heard us walk in, the smaller of the two, Madelyn, wrapped herself around me in a soft hug.  
"I missed you, Bro," she sniffled in an Irish accent.  
Though I was surprised at first, I swiftly accepted the hug gave her a squeeze back.  
"I'm sorry for earlier," I apologized in my own Irish accent. "I kind of got into a bit of an accident a week ago."  
Mrs. Frost gasped as I said this.  
"Yeah, he kind of got hit by a car," Melody added. "And as a result developed amnesia."  
"Oh, my poor baby," Mrs. Frost wailed as she got up and started hugging me again.  
I was definitely feeling uncomfortable again.  
"I only found him a few days ago, just wandering through town. I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier," Melody falsely apologized.  
"I forgive you, Mel, there's no way I could stay mad at my son's fiancé."  
Very uncomfortable, I had to change the subject.  
"So, uh, where's Dad?" I said out of nowhere.  
I was met with a wall of silence. Looking at Melody I saw that she was burying her face in her paws.  
"I… I-I'm sorry, did I- AGH!"  
I felt a sharp surge of pain from behind my eyes, and then a flow of heat rising in my head as images flashed through my mind.

* * *

 _I was in a big, bright room. No, I was just small, and the TV in front of me was lighting up the room. I heard a door close behind me.  
"Honey! I'm home!" A voice called in a thick Irish accent.  
I turned around and towards the voice.  
"Dad!" I exclaimed as I jumped at the fox in front of me.  
He was white, and dressed in a blue uniform. And on his chest shone a gold badge._

 _TRUST INTEGRITY BRAVERY  
PORT LIONS POLICE DEPARTMENT_

 _"_ _Hey there, boyo," he said as he gave me a noogy. "How're you doin' today?"  
"I'm fine, did you catch any bad guys?"  
The fox laughed and the scene blurred away._

* * *

 _I was sitting in the same room again, the TV playing once more; this time, I could hear rain clattering on the window. A knocking had me turning my head towards the door as a white vixen went to answer it. I saw a small white weasel dressed in a blue uniform, a familiar gold badge shining on his chest.  
"Mrs. Frost? I'm Officer Stoatson, I was accompanying Officer Frost during our rounds today. We were called to handle a hostage situation, and while we managed to stop the guy, your husband…"  
He sighed.  
"Markus didn't make it."  
As the vixen started crying, I saw my vision start to blur. I was choking on tears as I ran out of the room and up a set of stairs._

* * *

I found myself lying on the floor, staring up at three fuzzy forms; two white, one orange.  
"Jack… Come on, Jack, wake up." I heard Melody say.  
"Aye, I'll be fine, though I can' really see all that well. Did my glasses fall off?" I asked as I sat up.  
"Kind of… Here."  
I felt them being placed in my paw and instinctively placed them on my face. Oddly enough, while things were notably clearer, it seemed like my vision had gotten worse.  
 _'That's just great,'_ I thought.  
"Okay, gurls, wha' exactly… Happened?" I cautiously asked as I became aware of a bump on the back of my head.  
Melody looked a bit more nervous than usual, while Mrs. Frost and Madelyn shared worried looks.  
"You, umm… You kind of blacked out, Jack," Melody explained. "You cried out and stumbled backwards. After you hit the floor, you seemed to start crying for no reason. Did something happen?"  
"I… I don' know…" I said as I looked away.

The Frosts didn't stay for much longer. While they had asked if I wanted to go home with them, I declined as politely as I could. They left after sharing more awkward-feeling hugs.  
"Okay, spill it, what really happened?" Melody asked with a serious glare once the door was closed.  
"I guess I'm recalling memories, Mel, but they aren' mine," I told her as I walked back to the living room. "They feel familiar, but at the same time they're not. And they all pass by like dreams; I go through 'em and jus' as soon as they're over I can' remember the details."  
"Okay, that's… Interesting," the vixen commented as she followed me. "By the way, you can drop the accent any time now."  
To be honest, I had hardly noticed that I was still doing it.  
"Oh, uh… Sorry," I apologized.  
I then remembered about the USB I found that morning. Not wanting to end the day on an awkward note, I fished it out of my pocket.  
"You might want to take a look at this," I said as I offered it to her.  
"What is it?" She inquired as she took the flash drive and stared at the label. "Wait, what?"  
She looked up at me with an annoyed look.  
"Is this a joke?"  
"Your guess is as good as mine; do you want to take a look?" I suggested.  
It didn't take long for her to take out her laptop and plug in the drive. Almost immediately, we found out that it was the real deal.  
"Where did you even get all this?" Melody asked an awe.  
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."  
She gave me a hard look.  
"Try me."

* * *

? POV

After seeing the interview on the news, suspicion was one of the few states of mind that clouded my thoughts.  
"Why does he sound so familiar?" I thought out loud. "And last time I checked… Jackson Frost was dead."

* * *

 **The Universal Conversation**

 **{Electro}**

-Hello travellers, my name's Electro, and welcome to The Universal Conversation.

 **{Electro}**

-Now today instead of doing an inter view or answering questions. I'm just going to say Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and to those who don't… Happy Holidays. Now first off I just want to say that I now have an announcements board or section on my profile, which you guys should totally check out, that way, you guys can stay up to date on anything that's going on. Now how about a nice Christmas song to end this off, eh.

* **Music starts to play from nowhere***

 _Deck the halls with boughs of holly  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la  
_ _Tis the season to be jolly  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la_

 _Don we now our gay apparel  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la  
_ _Troll the ancient Yule-tide carol  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la_

 _See the blazing Yule before us  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la  
_ _Strike the harp and join the chorus  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la_

 _Follow me in merry measure  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la  
_ _While I tell of Yule-tide treasure  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la_

 _Fast away the old year passes  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la  
_ _Hail the new, ye lads and lasses  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la_

 _Sing we joyous all together  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la  
_ _Heedless of the wind and weather  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la  
_ _Fa la la la la, la la la la_

 ***Music Ends***

 **{Electro}**

-As old Sint Niklaas said **"Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight"**

 ***cease transmission…***


	14. Reality Check

**Chapter 14  
Reality Check**

Chris's (Jack's) POV

The flash drive that I had given Melody was a real goldmine of information. It had biological data not only on me before I changed, but also on the average human, the average evolved arctic fox, as well as me after the transformation, somehow.  
After some general browsing of the contents, Melody decided to compile the most relative information into a grid for a better comparison. I left her to it as I finished up with the dishes, figuring she'd benefit from not having someone looking over her shoulder the entire time.  
Once everything was put away, I came back to find Melody inputting the last of the info in her grid. Looking at it with no relative context, it seemed like a jumble of words and numbers to me.

"So… What're we looking at?" I asked a bit apprehensively.  
"Well, I can't say for certain," she admitted. "But if this information is correct, then technically you're still going through a changing process."  
"What do you mean? Being turned into a fox isn't enough?"  
"Yeah, about that. According to the data, you're not all fox to begin with; about 78% of you is still technically human."  
"Great, so I'm a freak that only looks like a fox," I deadpanned. "Anything about these new memories I'm getting?"  
"Not exactly," Melody answered as she pulled up one of the original files. "According to this, there's a thin golden membrane covering all of your organs inside of you. Apparently, it's regulating your transformation process and whenever it activates in your brain that's when you black out."  
"See, the hippocampus is where all the memories are stored in the brain," she explained as she tapped my skull. "And whenever this membrane activates, it heats up as the information is created; causing a lot of stress in the area, resulting in headaches and the eventual blackout."  
I just nodded, barely understanding what she was trying to explain. My eyes drifted toward the clock, showing how late it was, and I decided that it would be best to leave it at that for the night.  
She went back to her room, I set myself back on the couch. As I stared at the ceiling, I couldn't help but wonder what the hell was happening to me.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to an empty apartment, Melody having left a note that she had classes and a couple of group meetings to attend to. I was perfectly fine with it; I finally had some time to think without worrying about anything.  
After a quick breakfast, I grabbed a set of jogging wear from my new clothes and headed out. For the first time ever, I had to keep my glasses on while I was running. Otherwise, I would've hit someone or gotten hit, no matter how big the mammal or object. I was also still a bit unaccustomed to running without shoes, and I nearly tripped over my tail a couple of times, but after about a quarter-mile of embarrassment I was on autopilot.  
I ran for quite a while before reaching a park in front of a building that I recognized all too well, the ZPD precinct of Savannah Central. Of all the places I could've run, I had somehow ended up on its front step. The irony was lost on me as I turned tail and ran back to the apartment.  
A shower and a small lunch later, I was walking the streets of Zootopia again; my thoughts falling on my light wallet.  
 _'I'm going to have to find a job soon,'_ I thought to myself as I passed shops and cafés.

* * *

The next few days were a blur of the same. Wake up, go for a jog, and lounge about while waiting for Melody. Eventually though, Melody had a break from her classes and insisted on showing me around the city, pulling me to the station and onto a train towards another district. I didn't care; I was zoned out, playing the same scene in my head over and over. About how I got there in the first place. There had to be something I missed, something that would explain to me what happened. But I couldn't find it no matter how hard I tried, causing me to involuntarily growl.

"Chris, what's wrong?" I heard Melody ask, pulling me from my thoughts.  
"Nothing, I'm fine," I tried lying.  
"No, you're not. Your ears are flat against your head," she said as if pointing out the obvious.  
And just to see if she was right, I slid my paw over my head. Sure enough, they were flat just as she predicted. I grumbled at how easy it was for someone to guess how I was feeling now.  
"You know, I've never asked how old you were," the vixen admitted, trying to start a conversation. "I always just assumed you were eighteen."  
"Well just to let you know, I'm actually fifteen," I told her, earning a look. "Sixteen in a few weeks."  
"You're taking this quite well for fifteen."  
"Well, I've got two words for you," I said as I raised my paw to count them off. "Distraction and denial."  
"I'm not following," Melody responded with a cocked head.  
"I've always been an isolated person due to my outlook on life," I sighed. "I see things for what they are, not what other people think. And because of that, denial has become fairly easy to accomplish. As for distraction…"  
"I've been thinking about other things, constantly worried about everything. But now that I haven't been doing much lately, I guess I'm finally catching up on what's going on. And now I'm trying to figure it out from a different perspective."  
"Wow," Melody simply stated. "But you don't seem very isolated to me."  
"Well that's because I'm overloaded with god-knows-what was in that serum and that I've been trying to survive for the past couple of weeks," I retorted, slightly irritated. "So I'm sorry if I haven't acted like myself lately."  
"You don't have to be rude, you know," she shot back.  
"Well, I wouldn't be me if I wasn't," I returned.  
"Okay, now you're acting like a real ass," she said.  
"First of all, isn't that speciest or something? And second, I'm stressed and my social anxiety is getting the best of me," I replied as I massaged my temples.

Melody sat there next to me in silence for a good few minutes. I just stared out the train window and watched as the buildings flew past us.  
"You know, Jackson was almost the exact same way," she finally sighed. "He had social anxiety too, always nervous with others. It took me and Mandy a while to break him out of his shell. And when we did, we found that he was a nice and caring fox who always used his head to get out of bad situations.  
"Sure, he avoided others like the plague and he also acted like a complete ass when he was stressed. But he would always think over his problems, mulling it over and over until he figured it out.  
"And if you're anything like him, then you must be doing the same thing," she said as she looked straight at me. "Thinking there was something that you missed or something that you could've done differently. So you're replaying the situation over and over until it makes you sick or you found the solution."  
I just stared at her for a long moment, trying to wrap my head around her conclusion.  
"I… How…"  
"I've been with Jackson long enough to know how he thinks," Melody said as she got up and made her way to the door, the train having arrived at our destination.  
"But I'm not Jackson…" I muttered under my breath as I followed her.

We got off at Glacier Falls Station, right in the middle of Tundratown. And despite being practically blinded by the white snow, I immediately decided that I much preferred this district. Unlike Savannah Central with its warm temperature that left me sweating under my fur, Tundratown was much cooler, comfortable even.  
"Okay, let's get this show on the road," Melody said as she walked in front, having just put on a pair of sunglasses.  
I envied her; if I took off my glasses I was pretty much as blind as bat, at this point. So I decided to exact some revenge. Scooping up a bit of snow, I called her out.  
"Hey, Mel."  
"What?" She said as she turned around.  
She ended up with a face full of snow, causing me to double over in laughter. Sure, I might've signed my death warrant, but it was worth it. And I think I got off the hook too, because it didn't take long for her to start laughing as well.

* * *

The day passed by with a lot of goofing off and sightseeing, Melody having even treated me to some nice sushi at the fish market.  
 _'I can see myself living here,'_ I thought to myself as we walked through a park. _'Good thing I made that deal with Mandy the other day.'  
_ And speak of the devil, because at that point I noticed the familiar otter on a park bench tapping at her phone. Of all the times she had to show up, it had to be then. Fortunately, Mandy wasn't moving an inch from her spot and Melody seemed to have not noticed her yet, so I figured if I could just steer Melody away then we could pass by without either of them noticing each other. And it worked…  
For all of ten seconds.

"Oh, Jack! Hey!" I heard Mandy call out from behind us.  
"Mandy! I didn' notice ya there," I greeted her as I turned around and donned my accent again.  
"I almost didn't notice you," the otter said as she caught up to us. "What are you doing here?"  
"I'M taking him around town," Melody growled. "You know, to jog his memory."  
"Oh hey Mel," Mandy frowned at the vixen.  
"So, uh, how're things?" I asked, trying to prevent any fights from happening.  
"Well, I've found a place that's close to what you're looking for, so I guess it's about time you hold your end of the bargain," the otter answered without looking away from Melody.  
"Jack. What is she talking about?" The vixen asked as she flashed a grin that most definitely hid some form of anger.  
"Well… I made a deal with Mandy a few days ago while you were out of the apartment," I sheepishly admitted.  
"What kind of deal?" She pressed while crossing her arms.  
"That I 'might' let her look at the Long-Fall Boots if she found me a place to stay in Tundratown."  
"Uh-huh."  
"And I found you a place, here's the address," Mandy butted in, shoving a slip of paper in my face. "Now you're going to let me see those boots."  
"Yeah, about that," I told her as I grabbed the paper. "I said that I MIGHT let you see them, not that I WOULD."  
The otter gave me a disappointed look and then sighed.  
"Fine, you win," she said in defeat as she started walking away. "But I guess you won't mind if I keep this, then."  
She was holding up a small trinket that looked like a snow globe.  
"STOP RIGHT THERE MANDY!" Melody shouted, causing the otter to stop just a few feet away. "Where did you get that? I've been looking everywhere for it!"  
"Oh, this little thing?" Mandy asked as she whirled around. "I found it in the garbage, so why would you want it?"  
The otter sported a sly grin across her face, contrary to Melody who was practically fuming out of her ears.  
"Just give it back!" The vixen demanded.  
"Only if you let me see those boots," the otter requested.  
"Not in a million years," Melody growled.  
"So predictable," Mandy shrugged. "Then I guess you won't mind if I revealed Jack's true identity to the press, now would you?"  
I blinked for a moment, the words still trying to process in my head.  
"What?" Melody asked, surprised by the otter's words as well.  
Mandy walked up to us and stared down the vixen.  
"You heard me," she calmly said before looking at me. "He's not Jackson."

* * *

"I still can't believe I'm agreeing to this," Melody grumbled as she unlocked the apartment. "You stay here, I'll get the boots."  
As Melody disappeared, I was left with Mandy in the hallway; the otter still wearing the proud smirk from back in Tundratown.  
"So, uh, I've been meaning to ask, but… How did you find me out?" I asked her, having dropped the Irish accent a long time ago.  
"Well it wasn't easy," she admitted. "But not all that hard either. A strange unknown mammal just so happens to be with Mel in the lab, and then the next day a friend that's been missing for about a week shows up and claims to have amnesia."  
"Yeah, that was Mel's idea…" I admitted.  
"Figured as much," she replied. "Anyway, I thought something odd was going on, so I decided to try and catch you alone. And when I did, you weren't acting like Jack. You were nervous and shaky."  
"Wait, so the place you found in Tundratown is a hoax?" I asked, a bit worried.  
"I'm not evil, Chris, it's a real place," she assured me.  
Melody came back with the Long-Fall Boots in paw, sporting a slightly grumpy attitude.  
"Here are the boots," she said as she shoved them into Mandy's face.  
"And here's your… Whatever this is," the otter replied as she dug out the snow globe trinket from her pocket.  
"Go jump off a bridge!" Melody shot at her before storming into the apartment.  
"I might just do that!" Mandy teased back before heading towards her own place.  
"Hey Mandy, no hard feelings?" I asked as she unlocked her door.  
The otter paused at the door for a moment.  
"I'll think about it," she replied with a smile.

* * *

?'s POV

After going through every relevant file, my suspicions were confirmed.

 **Name: Frost, Jackson William  
Species:** ** _Vulpes Lagopus_** **(Arctic Fox)  
Age: 22**

Deceased, February 10, 2016

So how was it that Mr. Frost was walking around on the news? I had to find out why, and this new file probably had something to do with it.

 **Name: N/A  
Species: N/A  
Age: N/A**

Living.

* * *

 **the Universal Conversation**

 **{Electro}  
** -Hello travellers, my name's Electro, and welcome to The Universal Conversation. Now today, we have a very special guest appearing on the show today. He is the sole editor of this story and the author of 'The Hitchhikers Guide to Zootopia'. Please give a round of applause for AeroQC.

 ***Applause out of nowhere***

 **{Aero}  
** -Hey, yeah, my pleasure. First off, I wasn't exactly expecting you to drag me HERE.

 ***Gestures around us to showcase the apartment complex hallway we're in***

-And second of all: I'm a porcupine? Seriously?

 **{Electro}  
** -Well just be glad I didn't electrocute you. Remember I'm pretty much a living power plant. Now for our first question of the day: After seeing how our traveler Mr. Anthony took on this urban metropolis, how is Chris' take on his new environment different to your story's Mr. Drifner?

 **{Aero}  
** -Are you sure we should be talking about that here? I mean, I don't want you-know-who to accidentally over-hear us. I mean, she's already done it in my story, so I'm just being cautious.

 **{Electro}  
** -Hmm, you do have a point... Oh, I know a great place we can continue. I had this place set up not too long ago, up in Port Lions.

 ***Instantly transports us to said location***

-Ok, that should be good. Anyways, back to the question at hand, my prickly compadre.

 **{Aero}  
** -Just be glad that I'm used to cold weather. Anyways, Christopher seems to have taken his "displacement", as it were, pretty well. I mean, sure, he's finally letting it sink in, but he went two whole weeks without so much as freaking out. Sean, on the other hand, actually broke down and cried on the…

 ***Checks notes***

-…Third day. Huh. For a second, I thought it was on the fifth.

 ***Shrugs***

-Oh well.

 **{Electro}  
** -Hmm, that is true. Even with the obvious age difference. Ok, next question... How different is Chris compared to Sean in terms of personality and dealing with others?

 **{Aero}  
** -Hmm... That's a tough one, actually. Sean isn't exactly introverted, just... Evasive. He gets along fine with others; he's just not exactly inclined on making the first move, so to, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care who he bothers. And from what I can tell, he can be downright annoying as for Sean, let's just say that he can be a bit clueless sometimes.

 ***Chuckles***

 **{Electro}  
** -Interesting… Okay, onto the more complicated questions. Seeing how the events currently are, in terms of time placement, how do you think Chris will act when he encounters everyone's favorite bunny?

 **{Aero}  
** -Okay, I thought the last one was tough, and now you want a prediction? From your own editor?

 ***Laughs***

-You're good Electro, I'll give you that much.

 ***Clears throat***

-Okay, here's what I think. Jackson's disappearance was all over the news, just as much as his reappearance was. So naturally, I think that Judy would be intrigued by his case. Of course, Christopher has an aversion to cops, so he would try to get away somehow.

 **{Electro}  
** -Thank you, thank you very much. Now here's an easier one, what differences have you spotted between Chris and his Zootopian doppelganger Jackson?

 **{Aero}  
** -Well clearly Jackson had worse eyesight than Christopher, not to mention that Jackson is distinctly Irish, or in terms of personality, it seems like Jackson was more inclined to bettering himself by learning what he could. Whereas Christopher looked like he just complained about how awful or unjust the world was around him.

 **{Electro}  
** -You are correct. While Jackson is more like Judy in terms of breaking the stereotypes, Chris is more of the accepting realist like Nick. Now, if you were to ask the characters anything, anything at all, what would you ask them?

 **{Aero}  
** -Honestly? I wouldn't ask them anything. Their actions speak more than any answer they could possibly give me. I'm merely content in watching how this all plays out. Although to be honest, I think I would be a bit flustered in front of Mandy, if you catch my drift.

 **{Electro}  
** -Heheh, yeah. And how do you think Melody will be in the next few months of the story?

 **{Aero}  
** -Well right now she's distracted, but soon enough she'll have to come to terms with accepting that, as much as Christopher might look like Jackson, he won't ever fully BE Jackson. At least, that's the feeling I'm getting.

 **{Electro}  
** -Hmm, I feel like you could be some sort of therapist... Anywho last question before I let you go on your merry way. Who do you think our mystery mammal is at the end of Chapters's 13 and 14?

 **{Aero}  
** -A therapist, you say? Sorry, but that's more my assistant's thing; she must be rubbing off on me. And really, I can't tell who the mystery mammal is. Only that they seem to have information on just about everybody in Zootopia. And if I don't have enough info on something, I start making assumptions that just end up going way off course. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a movie to finish directing. One that I'm sure Mandy will enjoy, a lot.

 **{Electro}  
** -Yeah, you probably should. She is definitely someone you don't want to mess with. Luckily I've got Melody at my beck and call. Well, I had a fun time with you, Mr. QC. And tell your assistant Kyu to take some time off, she seems like she needs it.

 **{Aero}  
** -It was nice speaking with you, I can't wait to see what's in store.

 **{Electro}  
** -Thank you.  
Well, I guess that's all for today. This is Electro, signing off till next time.

 ***Cease transmission***


	15. Fractured

**Chapter 15  
Fractured**

Chris's (Jack's) POV

As soon as I was back inside the apartment, it felt like I was facing Death itself in the form of an extremely pissed off vixen. Melody was tapping her foot on the ground repeatedly, apparently waiting for some kind of excuse for what had just happened.  
"Well, I hope you're happy now," she growled.  
"That kind of depends on your definition of happy," I replied nonchalantly. "Because I'm feeling perfectly normal right now."  
"Which would be?" She snarled.  
"To put it simply, like a screw-up," I told her. "And in my defense, I was not expecting this to happen. THIS is one of the reasons why I don't like making promises, too many unexpected things can happen."  
Melody sighed and creased the bridge of her snout.  
"You are NOT a screw-up, Chris. I just can't believe that you used the boots as a bargaining tool with someone you don't even know," she said with disappointment in her voice.  
"Hey, when opportunity strikes, it's best to take chances. And at first, I had no intention of actually showing them," I told her. "I said that I MIGHT let her look at them, not that I WOULD."  
"I know," the vixen painfully groaned as she flopped onto the couch. "I just can't believe she tricked us."  
"A fox that's been out-foxed… Not exactly something to be proud of, that's for sure. And didn't you say that she wouldn't rat me out? That "she's just as curious as me"?" I asked, quoting her words.  
"Well I thought she wouldn't," Melody mumbled. "But I guess I don't know her as well as I used to."  
Just as I was about to say some consoling words, a high-pitched squeal rang in my ears. I crumpled to the floor as I covered my ears in pain, the squealing replaced with a dull ring. I felt something wet and warm on my paws and lowered them to find it was blood. Suddenly, Melody was on the floor next to me, her mouth making words that I couldn't hear. She led me onto the couch as I started to feel panic set in, I couldn't hear anything. Once I was sitting, I felt a familiar warmth around my ears.

"Chris! Come on, answer me! What happened?" Melody frantically asked, breaking the dull silence I was in for a few minutes.  
"Oh god, I can hear again," I sighed in relief.  
"What?!" She exclaimed.  
"I don't know why, Mel, but there was this very painful sound earlier. I think it blew out my eardrums," I told her, emphasizing my point by showing my bloody paws. "So I'm sorry for not answering anything for a few minutes."  
"Wait. What sound? I didn't hear anything."  
"Look, I don't know what happened either, but I'm not lying when I say that I heard something," I said, taking a defensive stance.  
"And I'm not saying that it didn't happen," the vixen retorted. "I've seen enough to know not to just dismiss something like this. All I'm saying is that I didn't hear anything."  
"Then would the scientist in the room please explain to me what happened?"  
"Very funny," she said with an unamused face. "I think that it must have been a specific frequency that only you can hear."  
"Is that kind of thing possible?"  
"Well, certain animals can hear different ranges of sound so… Maybe?" Melody shrugged.  
"You don't seem quite sure."  
"Well I'm not exactly in front of a lot of evidence, thank you very much," she fumed.  
Just then, I noticed a shadow briefly fly by the window, followed by a small quake that shook the building.  
"What the-?" Melody muttered as I rushed to the window.  
Looking down I saw the tell-tale figure of Mandy lying on the sidewalk below. She was wearing the Long-Fall Boots on her feet, now smoking, and a sizeable pool of blood was forming around the otter.  
"Shit… Shit. Shit. Shitshitshitshitshitshit!" I kept on saying as I tore out of the apartment and rushed down the stairs.

I came outside to find a small crowd starting to form around Mandy.  
"Mandy!" I cried out as I pushed through the crowd, but she didn't answer. "Has anybody called an ambulance?"  
"I did! They're on their way!" I heard someone say.  
I fell to my knees next to the otter, not caring for the blood.  
"I'm so sorry…" I painfully whispered.  
"Chris!" I heard Melody call out. "Chris, what's going-"  
I looked over to find the vixen shocked at the sight of her friend.

The paramedics arrived not too long after. They confirmed that Mandy was still alive, if only barely, before rushing her off in the ambulance.  
Melody and I were the only ones left at the scene; she was still staring at the blood that the otter had left behind.  
"I can't believe she actually did that…" She muttered.  
"She'll be fine," I tried reassuring her. "She was wearing the boots when I found her. I think they might've malfunctioned, or something, and made the landing a little harder."  
"She was lying in a pool of BLOOD, Chris!" She cried out.  
"And they said that she's still alive! OKAY!?" I retaliated, causing her to shrink into herself.  
I feel stupid for doing that now.  
"Look. We'll go check up on her tomorrow," I offered. "I don't think they would let us see her so soon after the fall she took and the… Blood loss. Sound good?"  
She wiped a few tears and nodded.  
"Just please don't start a fight while we're there, okay?" I begged.  
"Chris, I may hate her guts, but I'm not rude."

* * *

We walked into Zootopia General Hospital the next day, hoping to be able to visit Mandy. As we strolled through the lobby to the front desk, I couldn't help but notice the looks we were getting.  
"Excuse me, ma'am," I asked the leopard behind the desk, hoping to get her attention.  
"Can I help you?" She replied with a scowl.  
"A friend of ours came in yesterday, and we were wondering how she was doing. Like, can she receive any visitors?" I asked.  
"Who?" She curtly asked.  
"Mandy Lauter," I told her. "Sea otter."  
The leopard typed away at her computer with a firm frown on her face.  
"She's currently stable, you can visit her in room 463," she relayed without looking away. "Down the hall and take a left."  
Melody and I walked off in the direction given.  
"Jeez! Who pissed in her cereal this morning?" I commented as soon as we had turned the corner.  
"Don't think about it too much, Chris. It's normal," Melody defended.  
"She was rude! You call that normal?"  
"Normal towards us," she corrected.  
"I'm not following."  
"Every animal has their stereotype," the vixen sighed. "Skunks are stinky, bunnies are cute, foxes are sly and untrustworthy."  
"I would rather say that we're naturally clever, but I think that would probably come across as biased," I commented, meriting an eyeroll from Melody. "As for every fox being untrustworthy... I don't believe it for a second."  
"Really?" She asked in surprise.  
"Yeah. I trust you, don't I?" I absently replied.  
"Thanks," she quietly said.

When we came up to the room, we found that the door was closed. I knocked on it, only half-expecting someone to answer.  
"Come in," I voice called inside.  
We opened the door to find a deer at Mandy's bedside, dressed in the stereotypical white doctor's coat and writing notes on a clipboard.  
"And who might you be?" He asked as he looked up towards us.  
"Jack Frost," I introduced myself. "And this is Melody Vulpez. We're friends of Mandy's."  
"Oh good," he smiled. "Dr. Hoofington."  
"Nice to meet you. Is she doing okay?" I asked, referring to Mandy who was apparently sleeping in the bed.  
"Amazingly enough, she's going to pull through fine," Hoofington assured us. "She's quite the fighter, I'll say that much. Although she has yet to actually wake up from the ordeal."  
"Will she?" Melody softly asked.  
The doctor gave her a warm smile in return.  
"I'm positive that she will."

We sat by Mandy for the next few hours, the beep of the heart monitor and her slow breathing the only signs showing that she was still alive. Her head was bandaged, the doctor had told us that some stitches had been made where she had taken the impact. The Long-Fall Boots were on the side-table, apparently discarded when Mandy was brought in.  
Melody was holding onto the otter's paw when she finally woke up, groaning in apparent pain as she brought her other paw to her head.  
"Ow… Wha-? Where-? Guys?" She asked, visibly dizzy from the medication she was on.  
"Mandy! I was so worried!" Melody cried out as she hugged her.  
That was enough to jolt Mandy fully awake.  
"Okay, worried about what though?" She inquired. "Ow… Did I drink too much at the party?"  
"Party?" I asked, absolutely confused.  
"The party," Mandy repeated. "We were celebrating your guys' engagement, remember?"  
At this, Melody got up and quickly pulled me to a corner of the room.  
"That party was five weeks ago!" She whispered.  
"So?"  
"So she might have forgotten everything since then!" She added.  
"Amnesia?"  
Melody nodded. I looked back over to Mandy, who was still taking in her surroundings.  
"Well, I guess that means she forgot about all of those fights you two have been having," I pointed out.  
"I guess…"  
"So I think it would be best if you forgot about them too, Mel," I told her. "This might be your only chance to have your friend back."  
She looked over to Mandy, the pain she felt was evident from how her ears were flat against her head.  
"And I guess I'm acting as Jackson for her again," I added.  
The vixen nodded.  
"So Mandy, wouldja mind telling us the las' thing you remember?" I asked the otter in my Irish accent as I turned to her.  
"Well… I- uh… I remember going to the fridge to get some more drinks for everyone… And I guess I slipped or something?" She nervously chuckled. "Why? Guys, is there something you're not telling me?"  
"Mandy," Melody softly said. "That party was five weeks ago."  
The otter's face went blank. She gave a few nervous laughs, as if trying to spin it as a joke, but they fell silent against the two of us.  
"Was I out for all that time?" She asked, apparently worried.  
"No! No' even close," I answered. "You've only been ou' for a day, at most. We think you migh' have developed a bit o' amnesia."  
"How?"  
"Well… We started a little project between the three us," Melody chuckled, pointing at the boots on the table. "And there was a slight… Accident."  
"Okay…"  
"Yeah… Sorry if this is a bit of a shock, lass," I apologized.  
Mandy merely shook her head.  
"No. I should be sorry," she replied. "Sorry for making you two worry about me."  
"That's wha' friends are for," I smiled.  
"Yeah. The best of friends," Melody added as she hugged Mandy.

* * *

 **the Universal Conversation**

 **{Electro}  
** -Hello travellers, my name's Electro, and welcome to The Universal Conversation. Now I know I'm late when saying this but Happy Valentine's Day.

 **{Electro}**  
-I'm also sorry for not updating as frequently as y'all like but it's been a little challenging trying to find the needed details, that help me get from plot point A to plot point B. Plus I haven't had the time with everything going on on this side of the spectrum. I fact how about a poem, you guys like poems right?

 **{Electro}**  
 ***clears throat*** \- Roses are red, violets are blue... um, shit! I think I forgot the rest of this poem too ***smiles sheepishly***

 **{Electro}  
** -Well, that happened, Anyways...Hmm, you know what. I'm going to say this to the special lady in my life. The rest of don't have to listen if you don't want to...

 **{Electro}**  
-There aren't many things that make me happy in life. I've always been isolated, pessimistic, and angry about something. If it wasn't for you...I wouldn't be as happy as I am now. Now I would chuckle every morning at the simplest of things when normally I'd just won't even care. I'm a lot nicer to others than I was before, While I used to just ignore everyone I come in contact with, Now I greet those that I know and don't. I'm a lot more comfortable with myself as well as others. I've always been self-conscious about my appearance around my peers, but you just don't seem to care. You don't judge, and you don't give up on me. I've always been hard on myself, while you always give me the benefit of the doubt. I'm glad that I met you, although we didn't start on nice terms, it didn't really matter in the end. I will pray that this relationship will last. I will always love you. I will be with you, as you will be with me. Forever and Always. Am I a lovable guy...Yes, yes I am. Happy Late Valentine's Day.

 **{Electro}**  
\- Now that I've gotten that off my chest. I do believe I should make some announcements before signing off for the day. Just note that all these things can be found on the bulletin board section of my profile.

~Hey guys, are you ready for The Universal Conversation, the talk show after each chapter. In this little aftershow, we'll be talking to your favorite characters from behind the scenes, with your favorite Phoenix being the host. As well as the occasional input from this story's Editor. So what are you waiting for, ask your questions now! Hey guys, Electro here. I'm curious to see what

~Hey guys, Electro here. I'm curious to see what y'alls interpretation of our beloved characters look like, so pick up your pencils and sketchbooks and let your imagination run Wilde. This is also a competition, on who gets to be on the cover art.

~Hey guys, as you all know. I have a poll for the next universe. Now I've started playing Fallout 4 so I might be pre-writing. While I remember. Which means that the Fallout universe is based on my gameplay. Now whether it will be the next story or not is up to you guys. So chose wisely.

~Hey guys, as a little heads up for the future, my first and last story for the TUC series will be on FictionPress, I'll make sure to leave a link to them later. But luckily we have tons of time till then.

 **{Electro}**  
-Well, I guess that's all for today. This is Electro, signing off till next time.

 ***Cease transmission***


	16. Close Encounters

**Chapter 16  
Close Encounters  
**

Chris' (Jack's) POV

We stayed with Mandy as long as we could, but eventually visiting hours were over and we were forced to say our goodbyes. We promised to visit as soon as we could, which made the amnesic otter smile.

As we left the hospital, I couldn't help but notice how much happier Melody looked. She was smiling more than she had in the short time that I'd known her; The vixen even had a small skip in her step, swinging a bag that she had somehow smuggled out. And with a sudden smile, offered to show me around a bit of Savanna Central.  
She was chipper through the entire tour, pointing out landmarks and some nice shops. It was only when we stopped to eat at one of the many restaurants that I was reminded of another problem on my list.  
Money.  
I was starting to get little nervous about how low I was getting on cash. There was always the option to sell drawings again, but I didn't want to chance it with the police still technically looking for me. And I needed a permit to do that anyway, which would've cost me more than I had at the time.  
While we were eating, I noticed a colourful flyer being pushed around by a small gust of wind. I picked it up as it passed by our table and gave it a look, as curious as I was. It was for an upcoming event for a local theatre. It read:

 **Battle of the Bands  
Competition**

 **Come and perform for a chance of winning  
** ***THE GRAND PRIZE*  
** **of  
** **$100,000**

 **Auditions begin on February 26th, 2016  
** **Hosted by Buster Moon  
** **At the Moon Theatre  
** **1156 Grass St, Downtown Savanna Central**

 _'_ _A hundred thousand…'_ I thought to myself. _'Nah, there's no way I could…'_  
I pocketed the flyer as I shook my head, clearing it of any ridiculous thoughts. I figured myself to not exactly be "band material". And besides, who would want to be in a band with a fox?

* * *

I groaned as I slumped onto the couch back at the apartment; my feet were killing me. I still don't understand why no one has thought of the concept of shoes; most of our feet don't even have paw pads. I turned on the TV and shifted into a more comfortable sitting position before I heard Melody clearing her throat. Looking to her, I saw that she had an annoyed frown on her face.

"Can I help you?" I asked in an equally annoyed tone.  
"I would sure hope so," she replied as she pulled out the pair of white boots from her bag.  
"Right…"  
"You really don't care, do you?" She deadpanned.  
"At the moment, not at all," I admitted as I started browsing through channels. "Maybe tomorrow."  
"Fine," she sighed as she set down the boots before flopping on the couch next to me. "Mind if I watch with you then?"  
"Sure, if you want," I shrugged, giving her a little more room.  
After a few minutes of channel surfing I stumbled on a movie that I could bear to watch. As the movie went on, I noticed Melody slowly inching her way towards me. I didn't pay much attention to it, being more focused on the movie, but it was still a little awkward. Eventually, I felt a sudden weight leaning on my shoulder. Looking over, I found Melody resting her head there with a somewhat sleeping look on her face. I was about to say something when the subtle sound of snoring stopped me.  
She had fallen asleep and was using me as a pillow.  
I decided not to wake her, figuring that she would be cranky if I did, as well as being fully capable of kicking me out if she wanted to. I was still her guest after all. I went back to watching the last of the movie, turning it off as the credits began rolling. With the sleeping vixen still leaning on me, I awkwardly grabbed at a nearby blanket and pillow. Draping the blanket over both of us, I propped up the pillow as best as I could, given the position I was stuck in. After making sure that Melody was still sleeping, I tried my best to do the same.

* * *

I woke up with the distinct feeling of arms wrapped around me. After groggily looking around I found Melody clutching me with a happy look on her face, and she was purring in her sleep. I didn't even know that foxes purred.

Not wanting to disturb her, I reached over for my phone and earbuds so I could listen to some music.  
 _I'm waking up, to ash and dust,  
I wipe my brow and sweat my rust,  
I'm breathing in the chemicals…_

I was so into my music that I barely registered Melody getting off of me. It was only when her arm stretched out in front of my face did I look over to find her yawning, giving me a good glimpse at her fangs.  
"Mornin'," I greeted while taking out my earbuds.  
"Good morning," she lazily responded, most likely automatically.  
The vixen stood up from the couch and stretched further.  
"Did you have a good sleep?" I asked her, gaining her attention.  
"Yeah, actually," the vixen replied as she rubbed her eyes. "Did I sleep walk or…"  
Her eyes trailed along the couch, her eyes going wide as her ears perked up.  
"Oh my gosh. Chris, I'm so sorry!" She quickly apologized. "I didn't mean to fall asleep, it's just-"  
"Mel, it's fine!" I stopped her. "Trust me, I kinda liked it. It was like sleeping with a big fluffy dog again."  
"A… Dog?" She asked with a tilt of her head.  
"Yeah, a dog. You know? Man's best friend…"  
The words hung in silence before I groaned and facepalmed at my mistake.  
"I guess dogs don't technically exist here."  
"You're not making much sense," Melody voiced.  
"I've got a picture in here somewhere," I told her as I swiped through my phone.  
I brought up a photo of my two dogs from back home and showed them to her. Her brow shot up immediately in surprise at how they looked.  
"They're… Naked…" She pointed out.  
"Well yeah, my species is really the only one that wears clothes back home," I admitted. "These two were my pets."  
"Okay, well. Just… Try not to show that to anyone else," the vixen nervously smiled. "You might get some weird looks…"  
"Right, sorry," I replied while turning off my phone. "Anyway, dogs are related to wolves, and as far as I know, foxes are too, so…"  
"I think I get the relation, Chris."  
I nodded in understanding. Getting off of the couch, I went to the bathroom with some extra clothes from my duffel bag to change.

Coming back from the bathroom, I could smell that Melody was cooking up some breakfast.  
"Hey Mel, no need to cook for me, I'll grab something later," I told her as I grabbed the spare set of keys.  
"What?" She suddenly asked before poking her head out of the kitchen. "Where are you going?"  
"I'm just going for a run," I nonchalantly answered while opening the door.  
"A run?"  
"Uh, yeah? Is there something wrong?" I paused.  
"No! No, of course not," She quickly replied. "It's just that I was always trying to get Jackson to exercise more… I mean, he was fit and could play some sports pretty well, but he would never actually go out of his way to…"  
"Well, let's just put that as another thing that makes us different," I stated before turning to leave.  
"Hey…" Melody called, stopping me. "Would you mind if I… Joined you?"  
I turned around to find her looking down at her paws and twiddling her thumbs. She looked like she was nervous or something.  
"Sure, I guess?" I said, closing the door. "Though I'd recommend wearing something you don't mind sweating in."  
This prompted her to roll her eyes.  
"Foxes don't sweat, you idiot," she smiled as she headed to her room.

While I was waiting for Melody to change, I decided to listen to some music again. I wasn't sure how long she was going to take, even if it was just for a run. Setting my phone up again, I couldn't help but feel a bit more into it than earlier.  
 _I can see you running, running,  
Every night from the same darkness  
It's coming, coming,  
But you are not alone…_

* * *

Melody's POV

As I was changing, I started to hear someone singing just outside. I opened my door a crack to hear a little better, and was mesmerized by how nice the song was.  
"When you're against the wall, I could be the one who's always there to break your fall, you are not alone…"  
It was Chris. He was singing in the living room. And singing pretty well, I had to admit. I left the door open as I finished getting dressed, trusting that he wouldn't notice.  
I could still hear him singing when I was done, so I waited for him to finish before leaving my spot by the door.  
"And if I'm lost in the world's shadows, I'll use the light that comes to me, From your halo… Your ha~lo~o~o… Your ha~lo~o~o…"

* * *

Chris' (Jack's) POV

As I finished the song, I noticed Mel leaning in the hallway, dressed in some shorts and a t-shirt.  
"I didn't know you were a singer," she smiled.  
"I-I'm not. Not really," I stuttered in embarrassment as I put away my phone.  
"What do you mean, 'not really'? That was amazing!" The vixen ecstatically replied.  
"Uh… Thanks?" I said with a nervous smile.  
She chuckled before turning to the door.  
"Are you coming or not?"


	17. When Barriers Break

**Chapter 17  
** **When Barriers Break**

Chris' (Jack's) POV

We had only gone a few miles in our run before I noticed that Melody wasn't running beside me anymore. Looking back, I saw that she was struggling to keep up, almost half a block behind. I slowed down to give her a chance to catch up.

"Hey, uhh, you wanna turn back or something?" I offered once reached me, slightly concerned for the vixen's health.  
"No… Thank you… How… Are you… Not… Tired?" She gasped.  
"Practice," I simply answered. "Plus a lot of humans have pretty good endurance, so… Yeah."

Luckily, we were coming up to a small park where I noticed a free bench by the sidewalk.  
"Here, we can take a break before walking-"  
I wasn't even finished and Melody was already flopped on the bench, desperately trying to catch her breath.  
"-back."

I sat down next to the panting vixen who looked like she was going to have a heart-attack.  
"Are you sure you're okay, Mel?"  
"Yeah… Just fine…" She reassured me between breaths. "It's just that… I'm… A mathlete… Not… An athlete…"

We both chuckled at her little joke before I wiped some sweat away from my eyes, which I found odd considering…  
"Hey, didn't you say that foxes don't sweat?" I asked.

Melody caught her breath a few more times before giving an answer.  
"It's not that we can't sweat, Chris, it's more that we don't have enough sweat glands for it to work as a method of heat dissipation," she explained. "Instead, we pant a lot after hard workouts if we're not used to it."  
"Hmm, yeah, well, I'm sweating pretty hard right now, so I guess that's another human trait that hasn't changed yet," I told her as I showed her my sweat soaked paw for evidence.

Once we were back at the apartment, Melody was desperately pushing me to take a shower first, complaining about how badly I smelled while I kept on objecting that I couldn't help it. I gladly took the shower anyway, as my nose was having a hard time withstanding the smell of wet fox too. Once we were both done our respective showers and dressed, we finally had the breakfast Melody had started making nearly an hour ago.

"Hey Mel, just asking but… Do you have any plans for today?" I suddenly asked out of nowhere.  
"Hmm… No, not really. Why?" She replied after a slight pause to think.

For some reason, something in the back of my mind was itching to ask her something specific, something that I couldn't place my finger on at the time.  
"I was wondering if…" I started.

Luckily, before things started getting awkward, a plan popped into my head.  
"…If you'd like to come check out that apartment Mandy found for me?" I asked.

At the time, Melody was the only one between us that had a working phone, which would be helpful in finding the new place.  
' _I should ask Mel if she can fix my phone sometime…_ ' I thought while waiting for her answer.  
"Sure! I'd love to!" She exclaimed, her tail slightly quivering as she said that.  
' _Okay,_ that _was weird, Mel doesn't usually act like that…_ ' I wondered as I dug out the slip of paper that Mandy had given me.  
"Great, here's the address," I told the vixen as I gave her the paper.  
"Uh… Thanks, but why do I need this?" She asked in confusion.  
"So you can put it in your phone to find the place," I deadpanned.  
"Can't you look it up on Zoogle and print out a map?" Melody returned.  
"As much as I'd love to wander around in the snow staring at a piece of paper, Mel, I think a GPS would be faster," I frowned.  
"Well then why are you giving this to me?! Don't you have a phone?!" She shouted.  
"Yeah, I do, and it won't work!" I shouted back as I tossed my phone onto the table between us.

Melody sat there stunned for a moment before reaching for my phone. She stopped when her paw was an inch away and look at me with what looked like a "Can I?" face.  
"Go ahead," I told her as I leaned back in my chair. "I don't have a password or anything set on it anyway."  
' _Which is a good thing since I'm not sure Touch ID would work anymore for me at this point,_ ' I thought in silence as I stared at one of my paws.  
"Huh," I heard Melody say, gaining my attention again. "You're right. You really can't use this thing as a phone anymore, can you?"  
"Yeah, at this point it's more of a glorified MP3 player," I replied. "And with my cables back home, I've got no way to charge it."  
"Speaking of…" She winced as she turned the screen to me.

The image of a nearly empty battery was displayed before the entire screen went black.  
"Well that's just great," I growled as I snatched the phone back. "Now I can't even listen to my music."

Completely frustrated by the situation, I stuffed my now useless phone back into my pocket before crossing my arms and sulking in my seat.  
"Random question," Melody suddenly started. "But what was your cellphone provider?"

She wasn't wrong with it being a random question, but I thought it was an absolutely stupid one at the time.  
"Sprint," I answered. "Why? It's not going to make a difference now. The battery's dead and like I said, I've got no way to charge it."

"Maybe not," the vixen smirked as she pulled out her own phone, which looked very similar to mine. "See, I wondered why your phone struck me as familiar when I saw the logo on the back. While you've got what looks like an apple with a bite in it, mine has a carrot."

As she said this, Melody pointed to the back of her phone. Sure enough, there was a small picture of a carrot with a bite in it.

"So it got me thinking that your phone isn't that much different. In fact, it might just work with our cellular network if we connect it with one of our providers," she beamed. "And your Sprint seems similar enough to our Dash so I think we might have a better chance with that one versus Verista or ZT&T."  
"Wow. That… That actually makes sense," I smiled, my tail wagging slightly.

For some reason, I felt proud of her for figuring it out on her own. But it felt like I wasn't the one who was proud.  
"Okay so… Where does that take us?" I asked as I shook that weird thought away.  
"Well, for starters, I think we can use my cables to charge your phone with little to no problem," she pointed out. "After that, I think we can do some sort of hack to convince your phone to connect with our networks."  
"Great! Where are they?"

 **~~~}|{~~~**

Not much later, with the dishes all done and my phone plugged into the wall waiting for a full charge, I felt the inexplicable urge to take a nap. I apologized to Melody for the inconvenience but didn't wait for her reply before I crashed onto the couch, a warm feeling seemingly crawling all over me as I fell asleep.

 **-!{[=_=]}!-**

 _I once again found myself somewhere unrecognizable yet familiar at the same time. As I looked around, I started to remember where I was. It felt like the apartment complex that my family was living in when I was five. I was running around with one of my old friends, playing and simply being kids._

 _As the nostalgia started to come back, I suddenly noticed a dark shadow in the corner of my eye. It felt like it didn't belong there. As I walked towards it to find out what it was, it moved away. I tried catching it, but the faster I ran towards it, the faster it moved. The scenery shifted to look like the negative of a picture as I chased, but I could still see the shadow in front of me, out of reach._

'Why can't I catch it?' _I kept thinking before it suddenly stopped, almost bumping into it. At this distance, I could see that it looked like a person, but I couldn't tell who it was. It turned to look at me with darkened eyes._

" _Who are you?" I demanded.  
_ _The shadow shifted on its feet as if it were thinking of an answer. As it did so, more shadows started to surround us as the world dissolved into a black void.  
_ " _Who am I, ye' ask?" The shadow finally spoke. "Well, I am you, and you… are I."  
_ " _What?"  
_ " _And we are them," it said as it gestured to the crowd of shadows. "And they are us."  
_ " _What?"  
_ _I was more confused than before, but before I could ask another the question, the world collapsed on itself and I was left in a dark abyss._

 **-!{[=_=]}!-**

I woke up with a blistering headache, groaning as I set myself into a sitting position. Oddly enough, I clearly remembered the short exchange from my dream, but I couldn't make sense of what the shadow had said.

 _I am you, and you are I. And we are them, and they are us._

I tried to decipher it as much as I could, but was interrupted by the subtle smell of freshly cooked pizza starting to tickle my nose and growing stronger. At the same time, I finally noticed another thing. While I had thought that I had only taken a short nap, the clock clearly showed that I had slept for pretty much most of the day, but that wasn't what was odd. What was odd was that, despite it clearly being past the time where Melody's apartment fell into another buildings shadow, the whole place looked like it was bathed in a flashlight that filled my entire field of vision. I then began hearing a small patter of footsteps before a sharp set of knocks on the door assaulted my ears, not helped by the still lingering headache.

"Comin'," I answered as I made my way to the door.

I opened up to find two large pizza boxes and nothing else in the hallway. While I looked up and down the hall to try and find someone, the sound of someone clearing their throat came from underneath the boxes. And just as suddenly, I picked out the scent of something else along with the pizza. I crouched down to find that a ferret in a delivery uniform was holding the boxes above its head with a slightly frustrated expression on its face.

"Oh, hey there," I greeted the ferret.  
"Hello sir, I have a delivery for a Melody Vulpez," he replied while checking a small notepad.  
"Oh do ya now?" I smiled as I reached for my wallet. "Well I'm livin' with 'er at the moment and I'd be more than willin' to pay fer it. So how much do ah owe ya?"  
"The pizzas will be ten thirty-four," he said.

I picked out a five and a ten and handed them to the ferret before grabbing the boxes.  
"Ya can keep the change," I told him before closing the door.

I set the pizzas down on the table before heading towards Melody's room. I had reasoned that if she had ordered the pizzas, then she was still around waiting for them. Before reaching the door, however, I felt the start of another headache coming on.

I rushed towards the bathroom, having remembered seeing a bottle of ibuprofen in the cabinet. My heart was racing as I gulped the few tablets down, the headache started fading within minutes. I was panting heavily as I looked at myself in the mirror, and that's when I noticed that I looked taller. And my face looked slightly older than the last time I checked it. But as I looked at myself harder, a dark image seemed to appear over my reflection. It was the shadow.

' _I am you, and you are I,_ ' it softly repeated with a somewhat pained look in its eyes.

The hallucination disappeared once I felt a tightening around my midsection. I looked over to find Melody looking at me with a look filled with concern, her arms locked around me in comfort. That's when my mental walls broke down. The emotions that I had kept locked away for so long, the reason for my social independence, they all came out in a flurry. I clutched onto Melody as I let it all out.

I'll admit that I'm a very hard person to break, very few things and people actually can break me. But whatever this was, it knew better than I did at the time. It knew my strengths and it knew my weaknesses. It knew everything… And more…

* * *

 **The Universal Conversation**

 **[Electro]  
** -Hello hello, my dear listeners. Sorry for not being as active as normal, but what can you do with school and laziness?

 **{•~•}** Ahem… Forgetting someone Electro?

 **[Electro]  
** -Heh heh… right. Um, everyone, I'd like to introduce Skiá, my new assistant. She's been sent by the higher ups in order to keep me outta trouble.  
-Pain in my ass is all I gotta say.

 **{•~•}** Well I'm not happy either, you cloud-headed bird.

 **[Electro]  
** -Hey, I didn't ask you to be here! In fact, I've been trying to keep your shadowed fox ass outta my studio for the past two months!

 **{•~•}** Such a complainer.

 **[Electro]  
** -You know what, I'm not even gonna argue. But I do have a few announcements:  
-1- This talk show will only be used for news on either the story, its characters, reviews, announcements, and so on and so forth.  
-2- I will be partaking in a story project as a Co-Author for my friend Ennelly Von Sworrts which is being posted on his profile called 'Blitz and Balance'  
-3- New chapters won't be as frequent as they used to be. The momentum I had when I started this slowed down when school started last year, which then lead to my procrastination. I also have a few other projects that I am currently working on; Blitz and Balance, Legend of The Phoenix of Storms, TUC based stories, etc.

 **Editor's Note:**

 **Hey everyone, I'm just going to hijack this for a moment. I'm happy that Electro's back on the groove, and that you're all still reading this, so I hope that you'll do him a solid and also check out his other stuff when it does come out. And maybe check out mine?**


End file.
